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40 Random Bits of Trivia We Received in Lieu of a Tax Refund

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40 Random Bits of Trivia We Received in Lieu of a Tax Refund

January 21, 2025

You’d think we’d be upset when this list arrived in our mailbox instead of the tax refund we were hoping for, but you’d be wrong. See, the value we put on things is subjective. A rare baseball card might not be worth much to you, but to the right collector, it’s priceless. We’re among the very few believers that knowledge is worth more than money. It’s us, people who live off the land and some Buddhist monks.

We’re okay with that. We’re just hoping our landlord is okay with it too.

40

Donnie Darko

Patrick Swayze is wearing his own clothes in his scenes in Donnie Darko. He wanted to take a flame-thrower to his image, says director Richard Kelly, and they even filmed all the infomercials on his ranch, too. CRACKED.COM — Source: About.com

39

Keith Richards

Keith Richards produced the guitar riff for (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction while asleep. He woke up the next day without a clue until he heard a reco

38

Souling

Children used to visit houses souling, and ask for food, money, and booze. In 1000 A.D. November 2nd became known as All Souls' Day, where the poor would go to the homes of the wealthy and promise to pray for the homeowners' dead relatives in exchange for pastries. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

37

Old Hollywood

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ACTORS HAD IT EVEN WORSE THAN OTHERS. Classic Hollywood SUCKED ARABIA SEPIT FC2 ACROSEMENT When Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar for Gone with the Wind, she couldn't sit with her white co-stars - in fact, she was lucky to be allowed in the ceremony at all. And even with her family connections, Lena Horne struggled to get parts, because she refused to play maids. CRACKED.COM — Source

36

The Walking Dead

THE CAST OF THE WALKING DEAD. HOLDS DEATH DINNERS EVERY TIME A CHARACTER GETS KILLED OFF THE SHOW. These farewell dinners include bonfires, playing

35

Elf

23 Son Of A Nutcracker Facts About The Christmas Classic Elf - Besides his obvious cameo as the doctor, Jon Favreau also did the voice of the narwhal. — Sources: ABC News, Film School Rejects

34

World War II

Britain killed 750,000 pets in the run-up to WWII. CLOSED SUNDAYS UNWANTED ANIMALS HUMANELY DESTROYED SUPPORTED BY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS They feared food shortages being made worse due to people feeding their pets. Pamphlets advised the population that if they could not send their pets into the countryside, it really is kindest to have them destroyed. CRACKED.COM — 6 True Stories From History Creepier Than Any Horror Movie

33

30 Rock

The set for Werewolf Bar Mitzvah took 3 days to build. Tracy Jordan Werewolf Bar Mitzvah An Evening with Tracy Jordan Geffen Records It was only on screen for 6 seconds. BEHIND-THE-SCENES CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About '30 Rock'

32

Mythology

Sightings of the mysterious Spring-Heeled Jack stretch from 1837 to 1904. A MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES CRACKED.COM Jack was a boogeyman that was said to ring resi- dents of Londons' door- bells dressed as a bear, a ghost or a devil and scratch them with metal claws before leaping away with unnatural agility. — Source

31

Terrible Predictions

Brick-and-mortar stores have nothing to worry about. TIME MAGAZINE CRACKED.COM Their 1966 prediction that remote shopping will flop was based on the observation that women like to get out of the house. — Source

30

Rare Syndromes

One family in Turkey walks on all fours due to a rare syndrome that strikes the areas of the brain that controls balance. This rare mutation pre- vents proteins from dis- tributing fat molecules correctly in the cells, which leads to defective nerve cells, brain dam- age, and loss of balance. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

29

The Democrats

The Democratic symbol is an insult weixoogi. IWAHAT TAN BANKT MECRANIS WrEXT ITANKDE lddror Cartoonists used to portray Andrew Jackson as a jackass, calling him stubborn and stupid. Then they shifted TO using the symbol for the whole party, who learned to embrace it. The Republican elephant also began — For details, read 5 Famous Symbols that Were Created to Be Horrible Insults

28

Jellyfish

The Hydra jellyfish can regenerate damaged nerves and tissue, and renew Its cells whenever it wants. Their incredible ability to shed their cells keeps them from aging, with some scientists suggesting that they're incapable of dying of old age. CRACKED.COM — Wired, Science Daily

27

9/11

CRACKED.COM Six men survived 9/11 thanks to a squeegee. All six were stuck in an elevator after the plane struck - among them veteran window washer Jan Demczur. Demczur used his squeegee to jimmy the door open and then cut through the brittle plasterboard wall. They managed to get out of the building minutes before it collapsed. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

26

Kurt Goedel

Philosopher Kurt Goedel was SO into his wife's cooking, it killed him. He was so terrified of being poisoned, he'd only eat what she cooked-- so when she had to go to the hospital for some time, he ate nothing, and starved to death. CRACKED.COM — Source: TU Wien

25

Burger King

CRACKED BURGER KING'S DEADLY POKEBALLS. BIG KiDS DIC M Charltard To promote 1999's Pokemon: The First Movie, every kids' meal came with a Pokemon figurine in its own Pokeball. The detachable pieces formed airtight seals around children's noses and mouths, and actually killed two small children. — Source

24

Emma Morano

EMMA MORANO WAS BORN IN 1899 AND DIED IN 2017 Morano was the last documented person born in the 1800s to die. She died at age 117, citing her old age to genes, eating three eggs a day, and being single. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Pixelon

CRACKED.COM Pixelon was the (fake) Netflix of the '90s. Pixelon was the hottest startup in Silicon Valley. There were just a couple wrinkles: The whole show was run like a cult by a fugitive con man, and their video streaming tech was fake. Their only accomplishment was to reunite The Who for the site's stupidly lavish launch party. — Source

22

Scream

CRACKED.COM scream was originally titled scary Movie. NO, seriously. When Harvey Weinstein, the producer of the film, was listening to Michael Jackson's Scream in his car, he thought that would be a better title. So two (alleged) sex criminals caused the name change. — Source

21

The Sun

A spacecraft has reached the Sun In 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe was launched. In April 2021, it became the first spacecraft to enter the Sun's atmosphere. Scientists were surprised to learn the surface is wrinkled. CRACKED.COM — Source: CNN

20

Mental Health

Mentally ill people aren't likely to be dangerous. Most people with serious mental illnesses aren't prone to violence- and when they are, other factors are often at play, like substance abuse. If anything, having a mental illness makes you more likely to be a victim of violence. CRACKED.COM — American Psychological Association, Treatment Advocacy Center

19

The First Spit-Take

The first spit-take. 1906 CRACKED COM Dream of a Rarebit Scheme was a 7-minute long comic strip adaptation that marketed itself as a revolution in spe

18

Australia

South Australia Police found cannons among other weapons at a residential home. CRACKED.COM The homeowners, now ar- rested, had brass knuckles, collapsible batons, dag- gers, semi-automatic rifles, and four, honest-to-God cannons - like with the big wheels and everything. — ABC

17

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor died from eating too many cherries. Taylor drank an entire pitcher of milk and ate a huge bowl of cherries at a Fourth of July picnic. By July 9, he was dead. Scientists exhumed his body in 1980 to check for poisoning, but concluded that it was the cherries and milk that killed him. GRACKED.COM http://millercenter.org/president/taylor/essays/blography/6 — Source

16

Batwoman

CRACKED BATWOMAN NEEDED A COMPLETE REDO. Batwoman star Ruby Rose quit days after the Season 1 finale, and instead of hiring a new actor to play Kate Kane, they introduced an entirely new Batwoman. Javicia Leslie played Ryan Wilder as Batwoman in Season 2 and 3. — What Culture

15

Freedom

Richie Haven's iconic song Freedom came about by accident. Не just started playing it at Woodstock because he didn't have anything else he could play, but needed to stay on the stage. Later, to learn how to play it, he watched himself in the Woodstock movie. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Terminator 2

CRACKED.COM Terminator 2 The motorcycle jump When the T-1000 is chasing John Connor, the T-800 jumps in to save the day. That was stuntman Peter Kent on a bike held by wires, wearing creepy-as-hell makeup to resemble Schwarzenegger. Kent's prosthetic face was only substituted for Schwarzenegger's in the 2017 3D re-release. — The Terminator Fans

13

Game of Thrones

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Received in Lieu of a Tax Refund

12

Stan Lee

Stan Lee DO TOHI serious SQUIL. FUT CARIFTE, VAUA you could handle-- HULK for example. Then do a serious, no-) story using layouts (no about him-- your own drawings and 3V That's the only way to really tell if you have the stuff or When you think your work 1s as good as what's already appear the Till mags, send it in to us-- or DC, or anybody. then, studying, Worth $2.00? Excelsior! P.S.-- Your backgrounds are pretty good, too. CRACKED.COM In 1947, Lee offered to review people's comic book art for the low low price of $1.25. A fan — Source: Comics Alliance

11

Dreams

CRACKED OLDER PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO DREAM IN BLACK AND WHITE. The leading theory behind this is that older people had less exposure to color television. As of 2008, 12 percent of people reported dreaming in black and white- in the 1940s that number was 75%. — Source

10

KFC China

When KFC first moved to China, it must have curbed appetites by accidentally promoting self-cannibalism. KFC REAL In an attempt to translate their signature catchphrase Finger- lickin' good, some misused Chinese characters had them saying, Eat your fingers off. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

The Golden Palace

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM THE GOLDEN GIRLS SPUN OFF A SHOW CALLED THE GOLDEN PALACE. It ran for a total of one season, and it features a young Don Cheadle (circa 1992) as a hotel manager. — Source: 13 Short-Lived Sitcom Spinoffs We Totally Forgot About

8

Futurama

THE NUMBER 729 SHOWS UP A LOT IN FUTURAMA MERRY XMAS SON #1729 It isn't just a coincidence. 1,729 is Hardy-Ramanujan's number, the smallest number which can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways- in this case, 13 + 123 or 93 103. CRACKED.COM — Gizmodo

7

Fernando Tatís

CRACKED NEW YO In 1999, FERNANDO TATÍS made history when he hit TWO GRAND SLAMS IN ONE INNING while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Не is the only player in Major League Baseball to ever do this. — Keith Allison/Wiki Commons
Dodger Blue

6

The Exorcist

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1973 THE EXORCIST The home where the movie would be filmed caught on fire, so filming was delayed. During the shoot, actress Ellen Burstyn was injured, and her scream of agony can be heard in the film. Relatives of Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow died during production, and two actors died shortly after production wrapped. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Kentucky

95% of the world's bourbon is made in Kentucky. That's covering the state in black fungus. Shively, KY Bourbon production releases lots of ethanol int

4

Sam Kinison

Sam Kinison was a touring preacher. He quit after he caught his wife cheating on him. CRACKED.COM — Source: Ozy

3

Star Trek

CRACKED.COM Star Trek VI's explosion of Praxis, a key Klingon Empire power source, is based on the Chernobyl disaster. — 22 Real-Life Inspirations For Your Favorite Movie & TV Moments

2

The Largest Bug

Researchers found the largest bug to ever live A fossil of a millipede that would have been 22 inch wide, 8.6 foot long, 110 pound was found in Northern England. The giant bug would have lived during the Carboniferous Period around 326 million years ago. CRACKED.COM — Source: CNN

1

Groucho Marx

GROUCHO MARX said his last film was 'God-awful.' SKIDOO CRACKED cOM Groucho regretted taking the role, saying he looked embalmed onscreen. Chemicals were involved, as director Otto Preminger wrote Skidoo after experimenting with LSD. — MeTV

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