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36 Artisan Bits of Trivia That’ll Cost You An Arm and A Leg Because We Just Described Them As ‘Artisan’

Classy little num nums for your peckish brain

36 Artisan Bits of Trivia That’ll Cost You An Arm and A Leg Because We Just Described Them As ‘Artisan’

August 14, 2025 Add Cracked to Google

As much as we dump on terrible marketing campaigns, we’ve learned a thing or two from some decent advertisers over the years. Sexy buzz words like “artisan” have helped all kinds of businesses up-charge us gullible Guses for decades now, so we took a little page out of their book.

Here’s a gussied-up plate of artisanal facts that would go for a hefty price at the local brunch spot, but we’re in a giving mood today. Save your money for something “glammed out” or whatever.

36

Stranger Things

As many as 20 networks rejected the Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things series. CRACKED.COM One executive said they need to make it a kids show or have an adult character (Jim Hopper) be the main protagonist instead.

35

Freaks and Geeks

LINDA CARDELLINI KEPT HER CHARACTER'S ICONIC ARMY JACKET CRACKED.COM It's signed by the cast on the inside. It even survived a fire.

34

Swedish Words

Swedish FLIPPERFORÄLD literally pinball parent, a parent who gives their child a lot of freedom CRACKED.COM

33

The Great Famine

During the Great Famine, Ireland continued to export enormous quantities of food to England. GRAGKED COM This kept food prices far too high for the average Irish peasant to afford and was a major con- tributing factor in the large death toll from the famine. — Source

32

Spleens

Some people have a tiny, extra spleen. CRACKED COM Not only do 1 in every 10 people have a tiny second spleen called an accessory spleen, but also that if the main spleen is removed, the tiny second spleen can grow to function as a new spleen. — Source

31

Game of Thrones

The Tritonia khaleesi, a boneless little sea slug with a pale, slender body, was named after Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea. According to the scientists who discovered it, the slug's pale plumes look a lot like Daenerys' blond, braided hair does in the Game of Thrones series. It was also considered that both the slug and khaleesi are small in size. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Japan

In 1861, Japan had an illustrated history of America. CRACKED.COM It depicted, among other things, John Adams stabbing a giant snake, and George Washington punching a Ti- ger. It's no more fantastical than what they teach us in school, to be fair. — Source

29

John Wick: Chapter 2

Peter Stormare just kind of stumbled into a role in John Wick: Chapter 2. Не was hanging out with Keanu Reeves and, since he was a fan of the first movie, he asked Reeves What can I do? The rest is movie history. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

European Schools

CRACKED COM In the US, it's normal to go to college for four years. BIOLOGY HISTORY ENGLISH sociology POLITIC GEOMETR MATHEMATICS - ELIGION ECONOMY PHYSICS TUC ARTS OLOGY EDUCATION MISTRY In Europe, it's usually just three years, as lots of the general education that US students take is taken care of in high school. — Source

27

Rabies Prevention

Rabies is easily prevented with a vaccine that can be administered before or shortly after exposure. However, once symptoms appear, it's basically a death sentence. Less than 20 people have survived rabies. Ever. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

The Martian

THE MARTIAN THEY ACTUALLY GREW POTATOES ON SET. In order to show the potatoes in different stages of growth, production grew the spuds themselves on the sound stage next to the one they were using. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

The Great Depression

In the Great Depression, newspapers used by the homeless for warmth were called Hoover Blankets. It wasn't the only jab at the President, including calling empty, turned-out pockets Hoover flags. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Superman

Superman used Spider- Man's catchphrase long before Spider-Man. Because of these great powers ... you have a great responsibility. Uncle Ben? Nope - Pa Kent to Clark in Superman Comes to Earth, the first-ever live-action version of the hero. The serial came out in 1948, a full 14 years before the webslinger was created. GRACKED.COM — Source

23

Edward Scissorhands

The lead role in Edward Scissorhands was originally offered to Tom Cruise. CRACKED.COM Cruise declined because he wanted a happier ending. Tom Hanks, Gary Oldman, Jim Carrey, John Cusack, William Hurt, Robert Downy Jr., and Michael Jackson had all been considered. — Source

22

Prison Escapes

CRACKED.COM Kevin Jerome Pullum escaped prison using Eddie Murphy's picture Не had an elaborate escape plan, but for that, he needed a picture for his fake ID. With limited choices, Pullum chose the picture he considered most resembled him: that of Eddie Murphy. The plan succeeded and he nonchalantly walked out of prison, which wouldn't have happened if a guard just took a quick look at his ID and saw Dr. Dolittle's face. — Source

21

Corpse Discoveries

Baffling Corpse Discoveries 20 YEARS LATER, IN A SECRET ROOM In late 1973, a 73-year-old man disappeared without a trace. By 1991, his house had gone through several owners. Exterminators were called over a termite infestation in the crawlspace, and while checking it out they found a very small secret room. There, the man's skeleton was found with a self-inflicted shot to the head. Got questions? Get in line. CRACKED COM — Source

20

UFO Sightings

Nick Jonas saw 3 UFOs while in his backyard in LA when he was 15. О A friend of his was there too, so Jonas turned to him and proceeded to ask him Are you seeing this or am I losing my mind? CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Paula Deen

Paula Deen was sued by a former employee. She was nostalgic for the gool ol' Southern plantation days. Deen and her brother were sued over racist comments, sexual harassment, and borderline assault. It came out she was planning a plantation wedding for her brother, complete with tap-dancing black waiters. Walmart, Target, and others dropped her like a hot potato. CRACKED.COM — Source

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18

The Taxi Driver in West Virginia

CRACKED.COM A random taxi driver turned out to be the former governor of West Virginia. William С. Marland's forward-thinking policies couldn't overcome his failings as a politician or his alcoholism, and by 1960 he disappeared from public view. A couple years later, a Chicago journalist thought of fact-checking this cabbie's joke about being a former governor - and it turned out, it was Marland. — Source

17

The First Use of Green Screen

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects Hg1 Frank Williams: Grandfather 1916 of the green screen 5 Fig.2. 6 Williams' traveling matte system shot actors or vehicles against a black background and isolated them to be placed on other moving images. It could only work in black and white, but is a direct precursor of blue/green screen technology. CRACKED — Source

16

Cats

CRACKED Why do cats come back carrying dead animals? They're trying to teach you and set an example: it's in their nature to be a parent and teacher to their family. They're trying to show their family how to hunt and survive. — Klimek Pavol/Shutterstock
Live Science

15

Bamboo Armor

CRACKED DURING WWII, THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT COVERED THE TAJ MAHAL IN BAMBOO. They did this to save it from being bombed - and it worked. — India / MensXP

14

Taco Bell

You need to have a net worth of $1.5 million to open a Taco Bell franchise. BELL Express TACO TACO BELL Express CRACKED.COM In order to eat at Taco Bell, you need to have at least $25,000 in student loan debt and a grease spot on your pants that, no matter how much you try to wash, will not come out. — Business Insider

13

Fight Club

CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB WAS BOOED BY AUDIENCES. Releasing the movie with the Columbine shooting still fresh, while marketing it as a macho flick rather than the dark satire it was intended to be, didn't do Fight Club any favors. Both audiences and critics angrily turned their backs on the film. It didn't gain its cult status until it was released on DVD. — Source: 15 Movies And Shows (That Started Out As Flops)

12

Lady Bird

CRACKED.COM Lady Bird The original script was 350 pages long. Director Greta Gerwig's first draft was obscenely long. If shot at that length, the movie would have been over five hours long. — Source: Mental Floss

11

Octopuses

Octopuses get touchy-feely with each other when given MDMA. CRACKED.COM Octopuses are anti-so- cial towards other octo- puses by nature, but when given MDMA or ecstasy they are much more friendly and try to hug each other. — NPR

10

Schindler’s List

steven spielberg refused a paycheck for schindler's List. The movie being a close and personal project for Spielberg, he refused to take a salary for it. His share of the profits went to the Shoah Foundation, a history archive for the Holocaust and other tragic events. GRACKED.COM — Source: /Film

9

Disney Being Terrible

DISNEY SUED A BUNCH OF DAYCARE CENTERS. THE CRIME: PAINTING MICKEY ON THE WALL. This was copyright infringement, so Disney had legal standing. The suit never went to court. The centers agreed to paint over Mickey with toons from Hanna-Barbera and Universal, who were more generous and gave permission. CRACKED.COM — Source: Dark Moments From Disney’s Past

8

Ritz Crackers

Ritz crackers were deliberately named after the Ritz hotels. The crackers came out during The Great Depression, and the idea was to associate the crackers with something fancy and high-class (while keeping their price low). CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Groundhog Day

WEIRD WORLD Just before Groundhog Day, a weather-predicting groundhog suddenly died. A Facebook post from the local government in NJ said, We Wranglers are sad to report that Milltown Mel recently crossed over the rainbow bridge. Considering the average lifespan of a Groundhog is about 3 years, that is not such a shock, but Mel left us at aED.COM — Source

6

Cooking Steak

When seasoning steak, you need to add more than what your gut tells you. You are only seasoning the surface of the steak, not the whole steak itself, which means that you'd have to compensate for the lack of flavor inside. CRACKED COM — 26 Food And Cooking Common Misconceptions

5

Eli Roth

Eli Roth apologized to the Cabinet of Iceland CRACKED.co 2005's Hostel painted lots of nationalities in an array of unflattering tones. While he repeatedly made the (excellent) point that people still went to Texas after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came out, he did end up apologizing to Iceland's Minister of Culture and getting a pardon from the President. — Source: DreadCentral

4

Paul Walker

PAUL WALKER was partly digital in his final film FURIOUS7 It took state-of-the-art 2013 CGI (and Walker's brothers as stand-ins) to complete Walker's final performance. Amazingly, missing dialogue was pieced together from the actor's previously recorded lines. — Hollywood Reporter

3

Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson says his least favorite part of filmmaking is the actual on-set filming. The shoot is just a pain in the arse, basically. I love when we get to the cutting room. I sigh with relief, that is when I'm in my element in filmmaking. CRACKED COM — The Independent

2

Hateful Eight

KURT RUSSELL HATEFUL EIGHT CRACKEDc Russell was totally in character when he grabbed a guitar from Jennifer Jason Leigh and smashed it to bits. No one — Billboard

1

Brian Dennehy

Brian Dennehy lied about his military service. CRACKED.COM He used to claim that he was wounded in Vietnam, a lie that's still often reported as truth

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