40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Hatched From Their Leathery Shells and Must Make the Dangerous Trek to the Ocean

40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Hatched From Their Leathery Shells and Must Make the Dangerous Trek to the Ocean

21 Creepy Experiences People Haven’t Recovered From

21 Creepy Experiences People Haven’t Recovered From

33 Wild Times People Realized They Screwed Up Big Time

33 Wild Times People Realized They Screwed Up Big Time

12 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia to Slap Chop Into Your Noggin

12 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia to Slap Chop Into Your Noggin

40 Random Bits of Mental Health Trivia That Are Nothing A Little Meditation and Medication Can’t Help Relieve

40 Random Bits of Mental Health Trivia That Are Nothing A Little Meditation and Medication Can’t Help Relieve

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Salvaged Out of the Dumpster After the Trivia Bakery Closed

They’re a little stale (and slimy), but they’re still good!

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Salvaged Out of the Dumpster After the Trivia Bakery Closed

March 16, 2025

We hope you’re not too picky, because if you are, you’ll miss out on a ton of amazing random knowledge. Take these facts for example, they’re a little old, smelly and rough around the edges, but if you can get past all that superficial, surface-level crap, you’ll see that they have a lot to offer.

You might want to plug your nose, though.

40

Chameleons

CRACKED Chameleons don't change color for camouflage. It's usually to regulate their body temperature or communicate with their buddies. Some of them can't do it at all. Stop giving them a complex.

39

Sharks

MYTH Sharks can smell blood from miles away. TRUTH Sharks can smell blood from a quarter of a mile away. CRACKED.COM — Source

38

Mission to Mars

CRACKED.COM The movie Mission to Mars was based on a Disneyland ride. Before Pirates of the Caribbean, Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars was loosely based on the Tomorrowland ride of the same name. The connection was downplayed in the marketing, though, and it's unclear whether De Palma himself was aware of it. — Source

37

Pepsi

Pepsi was once the 6th largest navy in the world. L'Est CHIN Y VIII MITH IN IV . F WIL HE VI VII - IV - XI VII WILL ... es hwep ПЕПСИ-КОЛ ПЕПСИ ПЕПСИ-КОЛА - ЗОВАРНЫЙ E ПЕПСИ-КОЛА SPAR RANBER ТОВАРНЫЙ il AOR - - NET НИ the - DE 13 11 17 .. 33 : DE 12 ЛЬНИЙ 179 11 21 = 37 27 13 15 17 10 The USSR had restrictions on transporting rubles outside of their territory, so they made good on a $3 billion contract in 1990 with 17 submarines, a frigate, a cruiser and a — Source

36

Lawns

American lawns B WE SPEND MORE ON BEER GRACKED.COM Americans spend about $40 billion per year on lawns! Which works out to about $25 per household per month, which arguably isn't that much ... — Source

35

Lindt

It snowed chocolate in Switzerland. A malfunction at a Lindt chocolate factory sent a cloud of chocolate dust into the air, covering everything with dark chocolate flakes. No one wanted it to be cleaned up. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

Total Recall

It took 15 puppeteers to operate Kuato in Total Recall. The mutant leader puppet weighed 85 pounds, and needed 15 different people to operate its hands, eyes, and mouth, among other features. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Fire

CRACKED THE PATENT FOR THE FIRE HYDRANT WAS DESTROYED... ...in a fire. — Mental Floss / Inspect Point

32

Executions

CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Showing off the wrong purses Back in 1314, Isabella of France gave two silk purses as gifts to her sisters-in-law. They gave them to knights they were hooking up with (very illicitly), and the knights carried them in public, which ultimately got them executed in gruesome ways. — Andrei Metelev/Shutterstock
Historic UK

31

Napster

Napster helped fuel Spotify's success. The Max Reauto 100 Find # Clear Feide Advanced>> Filename Ditrate Free Length Uper Connection Ping Munic Wetalca The Unforgiven mp3 2.1135% 128 44100 215 Cable E The Thing That Should Not Be Metalca covedapp 6,463,892 128 44100 $40 Unknown . Incompleter Metalica -The Unforgiven.np3 299.000 128 44100 0.24 10m256 - % 80 . Music'Matalca Made of Puppetsup3 8,268,331 120 44100 $30 weekest Cable No Leal 0.237 056 192 44100 5:41 Cable obung 100 MusicMatalca Enter Sandman.up3 5.312.512 120 44100 5:30 Unknown ide 100 Ebe Matters mp3 44100 6:25 Unknown jdbs HE Metalica The Untogiven 5 mg3 44100 $:22 RedCX DSL

30

Alcohol

Hospitals can prescribe alcohol to alcoholic patients! Edi AA ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITALS ETHANOL 40% (45ML) ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITALS ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL ETHANOL 48% 1451 (VODKA) ETHANOL 40% (45ML) (VODKA) (VODKA) MANAGED ALCOHOL PROGRAM MANAGED ALCOHOL PROGR MANEG ALCOHOL PROGRAM STORE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE STORE AT ROOM TEMPEROD STORE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR ORAL USE FOR ORAL USE FOR ORAL USE TREE ORANGE TREE FOR a CHU FOR ORAL USE FAT FOR ORAL ONLY ONLY Beer, alcoholic beverages, and IV alcohol is often given to alcoholics before anesthesia to help patients tolerate procedures and help with withdrawal. CRACKED.COM — Source: 30 Medical Facts You'll Swear Are B.S. (But Aren't)

29

The Emperor of China

In 1921, the Emperor of China requested a phone... ...so he could make prank calls. (Не was 15.) NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 12 Movie And General Now-You-Know Facts

28

Egypt

Ancient Egyptians mummified cats so they could follow people in death. Plus, cats represented gods, and gods were happy to get, uh, offerings of cats. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Bo Burnham

AT A GLANCE ВО BURNHAM Не was accepted to Harvard, Brown, and New York University's theater programs Не included his videos in his applications. Не accepted the NYU offer but deferred so he could tour. CRACKED.COM — Source: The New Yorker

26

The Wolf of Wall Street

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE PRODUCTION GOT INTO TROUBLE WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET The film's production company, Red Granite Pictures, was forced to pay around $60 million to the U.S. government after being sued for using money misappropriated from a Malaysian state fund to finance the film. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Wolf of Wall Street

25

Citizen Kane

The real-life inspiration for Citizen Kane mostly hated one thing about the movie. William Randolph Hearst used Rosebud as the name for his mistress' private parts, and he hated that the movie actually used it for the sled. CRACKED.COM — Source: Cornell Sun

24

Scarface

scarface CRACKED.COM Pacino and De Palma's version updated the gangster myth from Howard Hawks' 1932 original -- and now it might be time for a new Tony Montana. Suspiria filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has grand plans for a 21st century update: This movie has to be shocking. — Collider

23

The Lost World

Michael Crichton wrote The Lost World just because fans kept asking him for it. THE LOST WORLD JUIAASSIC PARK He had .never done a sequel, and didn't want to. Eventually, as people kept writing to him about a sequel to Jurassic park, he started thinking about sequel ideas. CRACKED.COM — Source: MichaelCrichton.com

22

RoboCop

40 Random Bits of Trivia We Salvaged Out of the Dumpster After the Trivia Bakery Closed

21

Incels

The original incels were a support group started by a woman. In 1997, a Canadian woman (known only as Alana) created the Involuntary Celibacy Project, — More: 5 Political Insults With WTF Origins You Never Saw Coming

20

Speed 2

CRACKEDcO COM. HSD The makers of SPEED 2 spent six months building a full-sized Carribean town, with 35 buildings, into which a one-third-scale replic

19

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper whom you may have thought is the embodiment of Satan himself, actually believes every word in the Old Testament. CRACKED.COM

18

Vanity License Plates

OHIO'S NOT LOVIN' THE TOFU. MAINE UVTOFU OCT Vacationland 23 The state of Ohio told a guy to take off his license plate that said LUVTOFU because it could be seen as offensive. Tolerating tofu? Sure. But once you claim to love tofu, your intentions become suspect. CRACKED — Source

17

British Airways

GRACKED.COM BRITISHAIRWAYS A man sued British Airways over a (costly) misspelling. Edward Gamson booked a flight to Granada, Spain - only to realize mid-flight that his plane was headed to Grenada, in the Caribbean. Gamson sued the airline over this typo that cost him a ton of time and money. Unluckily for him, the lawsuit was dismissed. — Source

16

Oversights

BIG CAUSING A OOPS! MASSIVE ROCKSLIDE At the Vajont Dam in Italy, engineers didn't do a good enough job looking into the ground to analyze reservoir slope stability. The oversight resulted in a 1963 rockslide that killed at least 2,000 people. CRACKED — Fabio Caironi/Shutterstock
ASDSO Lessons Learned

15

Sofia Coppola

We almost got a Sofia Coppola adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Her version was supposed to adapt the original fairy tale, and she wanted to shoot underwater. They did some underwater shooting tests, but she left the project when too much money started pouring in, because she couldn't make the movie she wanted to make. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Movies, Science, And History Now-You-Know Fascinating Facts

14

Couples

Same-se couples don't influence their child's gender identity There is no major difference in the gender identity development of children raised by same-sex parents compared to those adopted by different-sex couples. CRACKED.COM — Source: ScienceDaily

13

Hook

Hook Tinkerbell makes Carrie Fisher and George Lucas fly. The couple Tink sprinkles with pixie dust on the way to Neverland are none other than Fisher and Lucas, in a hush-hush cameo. — Source: The Wrap

12

Scooby-Doo

Matthew Lillard screamed himself hoarse to audition for Shaggy. Lillard originally screamed in his car before his audi- tion at Warner Bros in Los Angeles, until his voice went hoarse and scratchy to achieve the proper af- fect for Shaggy in Scooby Doo. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

11

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian literally couldn't have been made without fans. The crew ran out of Stormtrooper costumes for a Season 1 scene, so they got in touch with the local members of the 501st legion, a group of fans who wear and make super-accurate Stormtrooper costumes. The legionnaires showed up, in their own suits, and played the remaining Stormtroopers. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Gambling

CRACKED OVER $100 MILLION GAMBLED AWAY One businessman lost more than $100 million in 2007 at a chain of casinos in Las Vegas. It's said that he was given alcohol and drugs to keep him gambling. — Source

9

Disney

CRACKED.COM IT WASN'T UNTIL 2015 THAT DISNEY STARTED INSTALLING METAL DETECTORS AT OF ITS THEME PARKS... ...A WEEK AFTER A MAN TRIED TO ENTER DISNEY WORLD WITH A HANDGUN-AND LONG AFTER SEVERAL OTHER INCIDENTS INVOLVING FIREARMS, INCLUDING TWO HOSTAGE SITUATIONS AND A SUICIDE. — Source

8

Colorado

BIZARRE EVENTS NAKED PUMPKIN RUN Every year, people in Colorado who are not afraid to show off their bodies join in the Halloween NAKED PUMPKIN RUN in Boulder. They take off all their clothes and carve pumpkins to put on their heads while they go for a jog. CRACKED — Naked Pumpkin Run (via archive.org)
CBS

7

Rats in NYC

Uptown vs. downtown rats in NYC are genetically different Rats that live north of 59th Street are genetically different than those that live south of 14th Street. Like true New Yorkers, they tend to stay close to where they were born. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source: NPR

6

Jeff Goldblum

CRACKED.COM Jeff Goldblum His favorite dinosaur is the triceratops. Goldblum favors the horned dino due to a book he read as a child, about a kid who found a triceratops egg, hatched it, rode on it, and took it to Washington D.C. You can learn a lot from a Reddit AMA. — Source: Jeff Goldblum/Reddit

5

Tyler the Creator

Tyler the Creator was once a Starbucks barista (who hated his boss). As he said on Jimmy Kimmel: This lady named Cindy, she was a new manager, she hated on me and she fired me and I hope she's watching 'cause I still hate her. I hate you so much! I hate you, Cindy! CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Katy Perry

Source: NYDailyNews

3

Pearl Harbor

Dusko Popov, a Serbian spy, brought J. Edgar Hoover proof that an attack on Pearl Harbor would happen, four months before it did. Hoover decided to ig

2

Goldfinger

Goldfinger is the quintessential Bond villain. And a real-life architect. Author lan Fleming butted heads with architect Erno Goldfinger when Goldfing

1

Reanimation

Sergei S. Bryukhonenko reanimated a dog head. He was a Soviet scientist during the Stalin era, and was working on the first heart-lung machine. So he

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