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We won these fair and square (no matter what that sobbing kid tells you)

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Won in a High-Stakes Game of Jacks Down at the Elementary School Playground

March 06, 2025

Growing up, playground games like marbles and Pogs didn’t really do it for us, since those didn’t give us the same risky thrill as a game of Jacks-for-Facts. We just felt so indifferent about winning or losing round balls of glass or bright-colored paper discs.

When facts were on the line, we loved winning as much as we hated losing. What a rush! And as you’ve seen from countless fact compilations on this site, when it comes to facts, nothing can stop us from bringing home the goods.

40

Mussels

CRACKED.COM A few mussels keep a Polish city unpoisoned. The water treatment plant in Poznañ, Poland employs eight experts to test the water for dangerous contaminants - these experts being mussels. When the mollusks taste something funny in the water, they slam their shells shut, triggering sensors that shut off the water supply. — Source

39

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman volunteered during the American Civil War to write letters for illiterate soldiers. Whitman wrote count- less letters on behalf of soldiers, some of whom were illiterate or were dying, back home to their loved ones. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Smithsonian / Wikipedia

38

Star Trek

Qui-Gon Jinn's communicator was called a Hush-98 Comlink. In our galaxy, it's called a Gillette Sensor-Excel for Women. Which explains why his beard was so neat. CRACKED.co http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hush-98 comlink — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

37

Human Cannonballs

The cannons used in Human cannonball shows are not really cannons but catapults. MIT .. STAND CRACKED.COM Fireworks and gunpowder are used to trick people into believing they are actually using explosives. — Gizmodo

36

Jackson Pollock

CRACKED.COM A CALIFORNIA WOMAN BOUGHT A JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTING FOR $5 AT A THRIFT STORE. A forensic art specialist helped determine 10625 38.4 W that the painting Teri Horton purchased is THE UNITED -280m W COL an original work by the artist also known - - ISEN 9 as Jack the Dripper. DOLLAR Its estimated value: anywhere from $10 million to $50 million. — Source

35

The Color Pink

PINK HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN A GIRL COLOR. In fact, it was used more for boys in the early 1900s. CRACKED.COM

34

Batman

Batman has a second secret identity. In the comics, Matches Malone was a gangster who died while trying to kill Batman - and who happened to look exac — More: Superhero Details Only The Apex Nerds Know

33

The Lorax

There's a Lorax parody called Truax (from the National Wood Flooring Association). In Truax, the title character is a tree logger (and a good guy) who's harassed by Guardbark, a kind of environmental activist (and definitely a bad guy). CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Gut Bacteria

Your own gut bacteria will start eating you four minutes after you die. These bacteria have no loyalty. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 22 Kinda Gross Facts About The Human Body That'll Make You Feel A Little Uncomfortable

31

Andrew Jackson Was A Savage

Andrew Jackson collected noses. Jackson didn't exactly like Native Americans, regardless of whether they were hostile or peaceful. Yes, he adopted an orphan Creek child -after being the reason the kid was an orphan in the first place. He had his soldiers cut off the noses to keep track of how many they killed. — More: 5 Horror Scenes Deleted From History For Being Too Creepy

30

Terrible Predictions

TV won't last 6 months. 20TH CENTURY FOX CRACKED.COM Studio exec Darryl Zanuck predicted that people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. Staring at that box is the only thing that gets us through the day! — Source

29

P.T. Barnum

P.T. Barnum got his start by buying an enslaved 70-year-old woman. Не claimed the woman, Joice Heth, was 161 years old and had been George Washington's nanny. Af- ter her death, he charged the public 50 cents to view her autopsy. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

28

Bonnie Tyler

CRACKED.COM Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name was a different song (by Bonnie Tyler). Tyler's If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man) didn't do as well as songwriter Desmond Child expected - so he rewrote the lyrics, changed the song's title, and gave it to someone else to prove it could be a hit. — Unknown Original

27

Cars

The Peel P50 car was designed for a single driver and one shopping bag. adidas TRIDENT CRACKED.COM Because it had no re- verse gear, drivers had to walk out of the car and physically drag it around, which was do- able because it weighed only 130lbs. — Source

26

John Cazale

JOHN CAZALE AND HIS FIVE MOVIES НЕ MET AL PACINO WHILE WORKING FOR STANDARD OIL.. Pacino immediately found him agreeable and fascinating. They then worked together in theater for a few years, where Cazale won the indie Obie Award two times. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

25

Queen

Freddie Mercury wrote Crazy Little Thing Called Love in ten minutes on a guitar despite only knowing a few chords. CRACKED COM — Source

24

Protests

WEIRD WORLD An vaxxer attempt to shut down traffic in London completely failed. An anti-vax group tired to get people to push traffic light buttons from 7 to 10 AM to bring London to a stand still, but nothing happened. CRACKED.COM — Source: MyLondon.news

23

World War II

A German Panzer unit surrendered to a single US Army Captain during WWII. CRACKED.COM US Army Captain Moffatt Burriss, along with just two others, came across a Pan- zer Corps of 15,000 men. Burriss went straight to the unit's leader and informed him that they were there to accept his surrender. — Source

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22

Sleep

CRACKED SLEEP SHUTS OFF THE SENSE OF SMELL. Studies have shown that when we're in the dreaming phase of sleep (REM) or deep sleep, we can't smell anything. It seems that any smells we experience in our dreams are actually made up by our brains, not from the outside world. — SeventyFour/Shutterstock
BBC

21

Dodo Birds

WEIRD WORLD The Dodo was so tasty and easy to catch that they were driven to extinction 300 years ago. Scientists at the University of California Santa Cruz have sequenced its full genome, raising the possibility that it could be brought back to life and sold grilled or crispy with a side of potato wedges. CRACKED.COM — The Times

20

Grizzlies

In Bow Valley, Canada, one grizzly bear has been dominant for some 10 years. illustration Не has the humdrum name of Bear No. 122, weighs 500-600 pounds, and has been at the top of the local grizzly hierarchy for about a decade. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Black Panther

Black Panther ...BY THE OVE SON! POUND & ET OUT OF A DEATH HE WAY! THE CRACKED.COM PANTHER'S RAGE CON THE COMIC THE MOVIE The scene where the Black Panther windsurfs an armored rhino mirrors a moment in Jungle Action #9, in which T'Challa saves a little kid from a charging rhino. — Source: 15 Iconic MCU Scenes Lifted Directly From The Comics

18

Elvis

Elvis Presley & Priscilla Presley 10 YEARS Elvis met Priscilla when she was only 14 years old. They were wed when she was 21 years old. Priscilla would go on to say Elvis was eager to mold her into his ideal woman. CRACKED.COM — Source: People

17

SNL

DAVID CROSS GRACKED COM His sketch group Cross Comedy did a showcase for SNL producers, which bombed big-time. Не and SNL writer Bob Odenkirk went on to create the iconic Mr. Show. — Source

16

Pulitzer Prizes

CRACKED ANET COOKE EXTRA EXTRA! PULITZER PRIZE REVOKED FOR FAKE NEWS! After Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke won a Pulitzer in 1981, she admitted that her story Jimmy's World was fabricated. Jimmy, the 8-year-old heroin addict, and his entire family were completely made-up. — Source

15

30 Rock

Rachel Dratch was originally cast as Jenna. Dratch ended up playing various smaller characters on the show. BEHIND-THE-SCENES CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About '30 Rock'

14

Jon Hamm

JON HAMM In 2015, it was uncovered Hamm got arrested while in college for participating in a violent hazing ritual. Hamm received probation for violently beating a Sigma Nu frat pledge and setting his pants on fire. CRACKED.COM — People

13

The Thing

The 1982 remake of The Thing was such a failure, John Carpenter lost a multi-picture deal. John Carpenter's The Thing was a box office bomb, being called the Most-Hated Film of All Time by horror magazine Cinefantastique. Carpenter had a multi-picture deal dropped by Universal. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Subaru

The lesbians drive Subarus stereotype exists because of a targeted ad campaign. It's Not a Choice. It's Not a Choice. It's the Way We're Built. It's the Way We're Built. Subaru All-Wheel Driving System. Subaru All-Wheel Driving System. In every car we make. In every car we make. Subaru realized the potential demographic for their cars in the '90s and actively marketed towards a lesbian audience. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

11

The Rockies

The Rocky Mountains were once a plateau higher than Tibet. However, because the mountains are much older than the very young Himalayas, they have eroded away over 60 million years to their present altitude. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

10

Vandalism

CRACKED BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK ISAAC NORMA AVEL the 12-26 ROSTO Two jerks signed an ancient petroglyph. On December 26th, 2021, two tourists visited Big Bend National Park and decided to leave their mark by carving their names into a well-preserved petroglyph. This act of vandalism not only permanently damaged the ancient artifact, but also destroyed part of history. — Independent / CBS Austin

9

Octopuses

CRACKED OCTOPUSES: NINE BRAINS, ONE GOAL (FOOD). Octopuses are incredibly smart for invertebrates, with nine brains - one in each arm and one in the middle of their bodies. They can figure out mazes and puzzles, especially when there's a tasty reward at the end. — Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock
The Conversation

8

Spontaneous Singing

CRACKED.COM In November 2013 a woman admitted to a Romanian hospital for diabetes awoke one day and began to sing. And she continuously sang the same

7

California

CRACKED CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL SYSTEM California has spent $9.8 billion on its high-speed rail project, with zero miles of track built as of May 2023. It's estimated that it'll take between $88 billion and $128 billion to finish the whole thing, from Los Angeles to San Francisco. $9.8 billion — Source

6

Olaf

WE HAVE A NEW WAY TO FIGHT EXTINCTION. Scientists managed to make a toad from sperm that had been frozen (they named him Olaf). That means we could have a bank of frozen amphibian sperm and eggs, and make baby amphibians whenever we need to. Amphibians are the vertebrate group with the highest percentage of species going extinct, so this is a pretty big win. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Gerald R. Ford

All poop generated aboard US Navy's newest aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford will be vaporized by plasma. CRACKED.COM The Plasma Arc Waste Destruction System (PAWDS) being used will treat all combusti- ble solid waste gener- ated on board the ship. — DTIC

4

Diamonds

Deep beneath a Siberian impact crater, there are trillions of carats of diamonds. The Popigai crater, about 100 kilometers wide, lies above enough diamonds to supply all the world's diamond needs for the next three millennia. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: WIRED

3

Coins

An American coin that never went into circulation was bought at auction for $7 million. A The 1933 Double Eagle was a $20 U.S. coin made of gold, of which only 9 survived their destruction by being stolen by U.S. Mint workers. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

2

Ronald McDonald

RONALD MCDONALD MCDONALDS GRACKED.COM Today Show meteorologist Willard Scott was the very first Ronald McDonald, somehow even creepier in his earliest incarnation. Scott had a thing for playing clowns, also appearing as Bozo on local TV. — YouTube

1

Whales

Caribbean sperm whales have their own dialect and are sort of discriminatory. CRACKED.COM The whales have a distinct culture and are known to in- teract only with other whales with their own unique dialects and 'ac- cents' which are variations of clicks unique to that area. — Source

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