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40 Simple Bits of Trivia That Antoni Taught Us to Prepare When We’re Entertaining Guests

Facts! Seasoned to perfection

40 Simple Bits of Trivia That Antoni Taught Us to Prepare When We’re Entertaining Guests

February 28, 2025

We learned a lot today. The first thing we learned was that we actually needed the guys from Queer Eye to come “fix us.” That was a tough pill to swallow, but the things we learned after that were so incredibly helpful. We now know how to prepare delicious facts, and that showering is actually quite important. Who knew?!?!

Huge shout out to our Cracked coworkers for siccing these lovely gentlemen on us. Apologies for the bland facts (and the smell) the last few years!

40

The Flagstaff War

The Flagstaff War CRACKED.COM Natives in the New Zealand town of Kororareka didn't take kindly to British troops raising their flag there. Chief Hona Heke chopped down the flagpole, then three more that replaced it. When the fourth was erected, Heke led a bloody rebellion that kicked off a 10-month war. — Source: The 5 Most Idiotic Wars Ever Fought

39

Puppies

Puppies are born understanding us Prior to extensive exposure to humans, puppies are able to understand the human social gaze and human cues, like pointing. CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Facts That Prove How Good Dogs Are (As If You Needed Proof)

38

Santa Claus

Coca Cola is responsible for Santa Claus being depicted as fat. CRACKED.COM In 1863, cartoonist Thomas Nast began drawing Santa with a huge stomach, but his jolly weight problem wasn't cemented in pop culture until the 1930s with Coke's advertisements. — Source

37

Cell Phones

The first cell phone weighed 2.4 pounds. CRACKED.COM The first portable cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X, was in- vented in 1973 by Motorola. The device offered a talk time of just 30 minutes and required 10 hours to re- charge. — Versus

36

FIFA 2012

In FIFA 12, the A practice goalie can turn enormous. SCOREBOARD GOALS 9 SAVES REPESES But his size doesn't help him tend goal. Attempting to score on the gigantic goalie causes him to fall over and flop around like a beached dolphin. Fixed versions of the game had the same giant goalie glitch, but without his head and arms. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/pLuDriewk8 — Source: 31 Surprising Facts About Iconic Video Games

35

Red Lobster

A Red Lobster president lost her job after creating an endless crab promotion. Red Lobster Edna Morris tried to boost profits with a $22.99 din- ner promotion, but instead lost millions by bungling her calculations on how many times patrons would refill their plates with pric- ey crab. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

34

The Byzantine Emporer

A Byzantine Emperor blinded prisoners of war before returning them to Bulgaria. CRACKED COM Basil II clustered thousands of Bulgarian prisoners into groups of 100, blinding all but one in each group, who would then lead the other 99 back home. Tsar Samuel died of a heart attack upon seeing the returning soldiers. — Source

33

Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing, a growing trend, involves observing how people's brain activity responds to products. It's as creepy as you think: companies hook cons

32

The Australian Navy

All ships of the Royal Australian Navy are marked with a large red kangaroo. When warships are at sea it is customary to fly only an ensign to identify a ship's nationality. This tra- dition came about after Australian warships were frequently confused with British vessels. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

31

Rotten Tomatoes

CRACKED.COM Rotten Tomatoes was inspired by Jackie Chan. Senh Duong, a huge Chan fan, set up the website specifically to track reviews for Rush Hour. When the film's release was pushed back, Duong launched the site with different movies instead. — Source

30

Honda

CRACKED IN 2006, HONDA BECAME THE SOLE SUPPLIER OF ENGINES IN THE INDYCAR SERIES. It was the first time that the race went on without a single engine problem. — Source

29

Saturday Night Live

NO BREAKFAST, ONLY CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER BELUSHI/ACKROYD. CRACKED.COM WRITER DON NOVELLO WAS INSPIRED AFTER GOING TO THIS BILLYGOAT TAVERN JUST TO HEAR THE GUYS GOING 'CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER. WE HAD A LIVE GRILL , THEY WERE REALLY MAKING CHEESEBURGERS. NOVELLO GOT ONE OF THE GOOD OFFICES AFTER THE SKETCH TOOK OFF. — Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests

28

The Colombian Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of Colombia commissioned a pop song that secretly included a Morse code. The message was in- tended to be heard by their kidnapped mili- tary personnel, which said, 19 people res- cued, you're next. Don't lose hope. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Coloribus

27

Metabolism

MYTH: THIN people HAVE A QUICK METABOLISM. FACT: THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A SLOWER one. The folks at the Mayo Clinic found out that, when you take weight into consideration, the metabolisms of over- and underweight people are the exact opposite of what we always heard: Thin people actually tend to have slower metabolisms than their heavier counterparts. It's because a heavier body actually needs a faster metabolism to get around. CRACKED.COM http://www.mayoclinic. org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508 — Source

26

Robin Williams

ROBIN WILLIAMS WAS A MASSIVE GAMER. Williams loved playing everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Call of Duty. His favorite game series was The Legend of Zelda. He loved it SO much that he named his daughter Zelda. — 6 Dorky Hobbies That Shatter Your Image Of Famous People

25

The Virgin Suicides

INDIE MOVIES OF THE '90s THE VIRGIN SUICIDES THERE WAS ANOTHER ADAPTATION IN PRODUCTION AT THE TIME. The studio wasn't satisfied with the script, though, so the movie rights lapsed and Sofia Coppola's version was given the green light. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia, IMDb

24

Volcano

Anne Heche Movies Volcano Ten digital effects companies and 300 people developed the FX. A quarter-mile long, 80% full-size replica of Wilshire Boulevard, one of the largest sets ever constructed in movie history, was assembled in Torrance, California. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia, That's Entertainment/YouTube

23

Sydney Prank

An eccentric millionaire tricked people into thinking he towed an iceberg into Sydney Harbor. RD In 1978, Dick Smith offered to cut the iceberg into ice cubes, or Dicksickles, but the iceberg was really made of shaving cream- an elaborate April Fools' Day prank. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — NY Times

22

Leo Fender

Leo Fender is a legend who perfected the electric guitar. But he couldn't play, and didn't like rock'n'roll. Despite the fact that his entire business revolved around manufacturing and constantly improving guitars and amps, Fender never actually got around to learning how to play them and didn't have any interest in doing so. When Fender was testing an amp with a guitar, other people in the shop had to go in and tune the instrument when they couldn't take the noise anymore. Yet his creations are the guitar of choice for legends such as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 Historical Figures Everybody Gets Wrong

21

Benjamin Franklin

CRACKED BEN FRANKLIN'S DARK SECRET. In 1998, a shocking discovery was made in the basement of Benjamin Franklin's old London house - over 1,200 pieces of bone from at least 15 people. Sounds serial killer-y, but the likeliest explanation is that his friend ran an anatomy school. — Source

20

The White House

40 Simple Bits of Trivia That Antoni Taught Us to Prepare When We’re Entertaining Guests — Source: Mashed

19

Ducks

WEIRD WORLD A neighborhood in Baton Rouge got taken over by a swarm of up to 60 ducks. Somehow, the ducks have become attached to two local women and gather outside their front door, then follow them around when they come out. CRACKED.COM — Source: AP News

18

Boosie Badazz

A fan drove three hours 15,000, to bring rapper Boosie OVER 0743,000,000 IN CASH PR OVER 1175.004.000 FB PRIZES FROM $500 UP Badazz some much-needed WINNING NOMBERS DC 7 insulin to his home. YOUR WUNDERS S S $ $ PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE $ 99 $ 99 PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE 99 3 99 55 $ PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE $ PRIZE 69 S PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE PRIZE 65 the IG $ PRIZE PRIZE STUD She refused payment but stopped to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket after leaving the house and won $14,000. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Red Skull

Hugo Weaving really didn't want to play Red Skull in the MCU again. He was glad to do it once, and says it was good to do it and try it out, but to be honest, it's not the sort of film I seek out and really am excited by. CRACKED.COM — Source: Collider

16

Marriage

The more you spend on your wedding, the higher the chance you'll get divorced. GRACKED.COM A study in 2014 discovered that couples who spent more than $20,000 on their wedding are roughly 46% more likely to get di- vorced than couples who spent $5,000-10,000. — The Atlantic

15

Mithridates

Mithridates was executed by scaphism. The soldier was punished by his king by allegedly trapping him between two boats, feeding and covering him with milk and honey, and waiting for him to be devoured by insects. Не stayed alive for 17 days. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring looks so mysterious because it's technically not a portrait. A portrait captures the appearance of a specific person. This p

13

Michelangelo’s David

Michelangelo's David has heart-shaped eyes. He also has a kind of strabismus (both of his eyes gaze in a different direction). The position of his lef

12

Cruise Ships

OPERATION BRIGHT STAR CENABD Code for a medical emergency on a cruise ship. Operation Rising Star is code that a passenger has died. CRACKED.COM

11

The Bad News Bears of World War II

JAy ZEAMER LED A TEAM OF OUTCASTS AND MISFITS IN WWII. AND THOSE LOSERS HELD OFF 17 ENEMY FIGHTERS. Zeamer's troublemakers were given a derelict B-17

10

Charles Manson

CELEBRITY COURTROOM ANTICS COMPLETE Los Angeles Times LATE STOCKS SPORTS MANSON GUILTY. NIXON DECLARES Charles Manson's Defense Say Rams Game Minist MA Saturday ١٠ Asked newspaper NEWS SUMMARY At the Tate murder trial in 1970, Manson showed the jury a newspaper with the headline Manson Guilty, Nixon Declares, which caused the testimony to stop, and the possibility of a mistrial was even floated. CRACKED — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/Wiki Commons,
Los Angeles Times
The New York Times

9

Poop Emoji

The poOP emoji from comics. 00 comes n Everyone's favorite emoji was already big in Japan before emoji were even a thing. A popular 1980s manga called — More: 3 Emoji With Awesomely Bizarre Origin Stories

8

Guardians of the Galaxy

In Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Ego's planet is based on fractal artwork. The filmmakers brought on Hal Tenny, who makes Mandelbrot set art, as a visual consultant. They based much of Ego's core, landscape, and the structures on the planet, on his concepts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Movies, Science, And History Now-You-Know Fascinating Facts

7

Tequila

Much like with champagne, the name tequila refers to the region where the spirit was made. ALTOS ALTOS P ALTOS ALTOS 8331/8 ELNIRS If an e-based dri

6

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Leonardo DiCaprio used a real flamethrower. When the Manson family comes to kill Sharon Tate, DiCaprio's Rick Dalton beats them off with a flamethrower. The thing is, it's a real flamethrower with real flame. Despite the fact that movies will CGI in mustaches, they just gave DiCaprio a real one and let him loose. — Source: Republicworld.com

5

The World’s Most Expensive Parking Spot

The world's most expensive parking spot costs $1.3 million A luxury building in Hong Kong sold a spot for more than $10,000 per square foot. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Thor: The Dark World

In Thor: The Dark World, a simple Loki gesture is actually a Steve McQueen homage. When Loki lies on his bunk and tosses his cup in the air, then catches it, that's a reference to Steve McQueen's character doing the same thing with a baseball in solitary confinement in The

3

Marilyn Monroe

21 Beloved Celebrities Who Melted Down In Spectacular Ways - In one scene, it took
Monroe 60 takes to deliver the line “It’s me, sugar!” She'd burst — Read More: 6 Insane Meltdowns by Actors on Set of Their Greatest Movies

2

Hamilton

2015's Hamilton wasn't the first Broadway show about the man. In 1917, the play Hamilton premiered on Broadway. It was about Hamilton's push to get th

1

Seinfeld

Seinfeld failed to be a comedy special. Unable to come up with 90 minutes' worth of material, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David made a half-hour pilot for a show instead. Then the show went on for nine seasons. — Source: Den of Geek

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