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40 Sincere Bits of Trivia That You Can Trust (For Real This Time)

Not a single myth in the bunch

40 Sincere Bits of Trivia That You Can Trust (For Real This Time)

March 09, 2025

Apologies for that last list, you guys. Our regular fact checker was away on vacation and the new guy let one pesky little myth past him. It’s no excuse, though. All we can do now is promise that he’ll never work in this town again, and that every single fact will be highly scrutinized moving forward.

Because as they say, one bad fact spoils the whole bunch.

40

Hydrangeas

Hydrangea flowers are a naturally occurring pH indicator and can change color depending on soil. GRACKED COM In acid soils, chemical re- actions occur in the soil that turns the flowers blue. In alkaline soils, these reactions cannot occur causing the flowers to remain pink. — Source

39

Andy Serkis

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE HOBBIT ANDY SERKIS DIDN'T JUST PLAY GOLLUM. A big contribution he did to the Hobbit trilogy was directing the second unit for the three movies. That's... that's actually cool. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The 'Lord Of The Rings' And 'Hobbit' Movies

38

Bats

This species of bat has a wingspan of over 5.5 feet Still, the golden-crowned flying fox only weighs up to 3 pounds CRACKED.COM — Source

37

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie scared little kids while in costume on the set of Maleficent. One kid said, Mommy, please get the mean witch to stop talking to me. Her daughter, Vivienne Jo- lie-Pitt, who played young Aurora, was the only child who was not scared of her. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Movie Rob / YouTube

36

The Eternals

DC's Man of Steel ended up directly inspired Marvel's The Eternals. The Eternal Ikaris is basically a riff on Superman, and director Chloe Zhao said that Of all modern interpretations of Superman, this is Zack Snyder's with 'Man Of Steel' which inspired me the most because he approached this myth in an authentic and very real way. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Movies We Didn’t Know Were Inspired By Other Movies

35

India

75% of the world's spices come from India. India produces 1.5 million metric tons of spice every year. The country with the second most spice production, Bangladesh, only produces 140,000 metric tons. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — UN Food & Agriculture Organization

34

Polar Bears

Liver of polar bears is so rich in vitamin-A that it is considered poisonous. GRAGKED.COM When hunted down by humans, the livers are buried or burned to prevent the hunter's dogs from eating them. — Source

33

Water Hemlock

You can be poisoned from drinking the water it grows in. WATER HEMLOCK CRACKEDo COM Found all over Canada and the US, Water Hemlock contains cicutoxin which causes rapid onset seizures, vomiting, and frothing at the mouth. If this plant is trampled upon, the poison leeches into the water by which it grows and can kill animals that drink from it. — Source: US Dept. of Agriculture

32

The USPS

A Las Vegas replica of the Statue of Liberty was mistakenly used on a USPS stamp. CRACKED COM The USPS mistook the replica for the real one in New York when creating the Lady Liberty forever stamp in 2010, resulting in $3.5 million payouts to the replica's sculptor for vio- lating his copyright. — Source

31

Iceland

In Iceland, the phonebook is sorted by first names. Everyone's surname is basically their father's first name followed by -son or -dottir. Because of this, the whole culture is on a first name basis - teachers, bosses, and doctors go by their first name. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Ice News

30

Mythology

CRACKED.CO .COM STELLER'S SEA APE WAS SEEN ONLY ONCE. Georg Wilhelm Steller wasn't a wacky cryptozoologist but a reputable 18th- century naturalist. So it's strange that a big, fat, mustachioed animal that he described during Captain Vitus Bering's Great Northern Expedition was never seen again. Some believe, however, that the sea ape was actually a snarky description of Captain Bering himself. — 5 Historical Mysteries That Had Painfully Dumb Explanations

29

Blockbuster

CRACKED BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO Deli BLOCKBUSTER John Antioco's arrogance in September 2000 cost Blockbuster its future when he refused to consider the possibility of buying Netflix for $50 million, which could have saved the company from its eventual bankruptcy in 2014.

28

James Cameron

James Cameron and his movies Не was a truck driver before getting into Hollywood. Не studied filmmaking by photocopying and reading doctoral film dissertations at USC. CRACKED.COM — Showbiz CheatSheet

27

Ghosting

'Ghosting' means cutting off all communication without any explanation, and it's a terrible way to break up with someone. As such, it's perplexing that around one in five Americans have broken up with their romantic partners by ghosting them. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Bad Behaviors That Are More Common Than You Realize

26

Aladdin

The magic carpet in Aladdin wasn't 2D-animated. It was done in CG, and they drew the pattern on paper before turning into a texture for a 3D object. That was super expensive at the time, and Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg wan't happy about paying so much for a bunch of — Source: FilmSchoolRejects

25

Boris Johnson

In 2015, then- Mayor of London BORIS JOHNSON accidentally rammed into a 10-year-old schoolboy while they were playing street rugby in Tokyo, Japan. Не knocked him over and, of course, had to apologize. CRACKED — via The Guardian,
I T S/Shutterstock
The Guardian

24

The Invariant Right

90 percent of people who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right. VIVID FLAIR - des GRACKED COM The Invariant Right is the name given to the phe- nomenon of Americans usually sticking to the right of concourses and sidewalks, even when they don't need to. — New Yorker

23

Botswana

In Botswana, lions hunt elephants. This happens when most of their regular prey migrates between August and November, and a lot of elephants hang around (the elephants stick around because there's an artificial water supply in the area). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

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22

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3, which has gained the reputation of being one of the worst comic book movies ever, was actually the highest- grossing film domestically i

21

Shirley MacLaine

Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine played baseball on an all-boys team. GRACKED.COM MacLaine played baseball for an all-boys team in the '40s and held the record for most home runs, earning her the nickname 'powerhouse.' She originally wanted to be a bal- lerina, but her height made it difficult. — Source

20

Weaponized Fruit

PRISON ESCAPES THEY PASSED PEACHES OFF AS GRENADES, YOU GUYS. Nadine had been learning how to fly helicopters for six months. Her husband was a petty bank robber called Michel Vaujour, and he had painted nectarines as grenades, as one does while jailed. Vaujour used his weapons to get access to the roof and climb up the cable Nadine dropped down from the chopper. CRACKED.COM — Sea Wave/Shutterstock
Grunge

19

The Wright Brothers

CRACKED ORVILLE WRIGHT WAS OBVIOUSLY DAD'S FAVORITE WRIGHT BROTHER. The Wright brothers made history on May 25, 1910 when Orville flew for six minutes, with Wilbur as his passenger. Later that day, he also took their 82-year-old father out for the first and only flight of his life. — Biography

18

Bonnie and Clyde

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Bonnie and Clyde: The Legendary Bank Robbers. REALITY: They mostly robbed small grocery stores and gas stations. In the four years the Barrow gang targeted banks, they hit less than 15, didn't get away with much money, and a lot of times Bonnie stayed home and wasn't even involved. It was also easier to rob places with lower risk and quicker getaways. — Source

17

Lithuanian Crowdfunding

Ukraine got a new armed drone thanks to crowdfunding from Lithuania. GRAGKED.COM $6.1 million was raised by Lithuanian citizens within mere days for the combat drone that will help stand against Russian troops. With a population of just 2.8 mil- lion, this is like everyone chipping in $3. — AP News

16

Snapchat

Snapchat lost around $800 million in stock after running an ad on their platform for the mobile game Would You Rather? which mocked Rihanna's abuse. Would You Rather? Imposable Chocolat WOULD YOU RATHER! Slap Rihanna Punch Chris Brown Many users deleted the app following PLAY her response. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The Usual Suspects

Verbal Kint is the character in The Usual Suspects who (spoiler) is secretly Turkish crime lord Keyser Soze. But the name gives away his identity. In Turkish, Soze comes from soz and can mean, among other things, talk or say. You know, to be verbal. CRACKED.COM — Source: 32 Ace Facts About Famous Characters

14

Friends

PEOPLE TEND TO BE HAPPIER AROUND FRIENDS THAN FAMILY. Social bonds are necessary for happiness. People are often happiest around friends, family, and — Source: Mental Floss

13

Terrence Howard

Terrence Howard claimed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from South Carolina State University. Uh, no. It was an

12

Eddie Gaedel

Eddie Gaedel St. Louis Browns CRACKED.COM In 1951, Browns owner Bill Veeck hired the 3'7 performer for exactly one at-bat, in order to present an impossibly small strike zone and get a guaranteed walk. The ump called shenanigans, but they had the contract on-hand, SO it was all technically legit. — Source: 15 Suspiciously Specific Clauses In Pro Athletes' Contracts

11

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks

In 2011, asteroids named after Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks met near Earth. CRACKED.COM An asteroid named 8353 Megryan in 1989 and an asteroid named 12818 Tomhanks in 1996 both made their closest ар- proaches to Earth in September, 2011. — Space

10

Harry Potter

Henry Cavill could have played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter. He auditioned, but Robert Pattinson beat him out. CRACKED.COM — Source: Yahoo

9

Pupils

Only one person has been known to be able to control the size of their pupil. CRACKED.COM Не could constrict and dilate his own pupils, without the need for outside stimuli like light levels, even im- proving his visual acui- ty. — Source

8

Ketchup

CRACKED - - - Illow - - - STA KETCHUP- FUELED SURVIVAL. CMA One Dominican sailor managed to stay alive in the Caribbean sea for over three weeks by eating ketchup and other condiments. Presumably, and hopefully, not a Heinz guerrilla marketing stunt. — Source

7

Jackie Coogan

CRACKED.CON When Jackie Coogan was 19, long before he became Uncle Fester, a close friend of his was murdered. Coogan was part of a mob that lynched t

6

Dave Chappelle

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM WE ALMOST GOT A DAVE CHAPELLE SPINOFF OF HOME IMPROVEMENT. It was called Buddies, and it was on air for a short while, but as Chappelle, says, It was a bad show. It was bad. I mean when we were doing it, I could tell this was not gonna work. — Source: 13 Short-Lived Sitcom Spinoffs We Totally Forgot About

5

Battleship

Russian officers played the game Battleship before WWI. CRACKED.COM The game dates back to the turn of the 20th cen- tury, where it was played with just paper and pen. A version using plastic pegs wasn't created until 1967. — Source

4

Saints

The nun who came back from the dead CRACKED.COM Christina The Astonishing was sainted while she was still alive - a rare feat. She also managed to die while she was still alive. She suffered a seizure at 21, but popped out of her coffin when they were about to bury her. She spent the next 50 years doing weird sh like walking into fire and being voluntarily pummelled by mill wheels.

3

The Moon

An abandoned rocket crashed into the farside of the Moon Astronomers thought the discarded part of a rocket might have been from SpaceX, later saying it was Chinese (which China denies.) Either way, the rocket probably left a crater and did minimal damage. CRACKED.COM — Source: BBC

2

9/11

Jackie Chan almost filmed at the Twin Towers on 9/11. NOSEBLEED CRACKED CON The movie was ultimately cancelled because Chan didn't like the script. Bu

1

Jeremy Clarkson

CRACKED TOP GEAR JEREMY CLARKSON Jeremy Clarkson got the boot from Top Gear after getting into a fight with a producer. It started because the producer told Clarkson the hotel kitchen was closed and he couldn't get a hot meal. — Source

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