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October 13, 2023

Needing to know what you’re in for is for cowards. What happened to the brave folks out there who wade into internet fact compilations with no idea what they could possibly learn. These are the daredevils who don’t need some sort of broad uniting fact theme to comfort them while they kill time in the bathroom, or wait for a Tinder date at the bar. No, they’re ready to wade into the rough waters and learn whatever fun facts bob in front of them in an infinite ocean of moderately interesting content.

31

The original flying saucers

CRACKED.COM The first flying saucers weren't flying saucers. Pilot Kenneth Arnold, the first person who reported seeing UFOs, said they were flying like a saucer if you skip it across the water. Не was very annoyed when he was misreported as saying they were saucer-shaped - an image that was then cemented by hoaxes. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

30

Sex Cults & Flatware

Oneida flatware was created by a sex cult. The Oneida Community started as an agrarian utopia in the 1800s, before switching to metallurgic industrialism and creating the fancy silverware still sold today. Their success was their downfall, as the government started to look closely into their free-loving, commie ways. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

29

The lifesaving squeegee

CRACKED.COM Six men survived 9/11 thanks to a squeegee. All six were stuck in an elevator after the plane struck - among them veteran window washer Jan Demczur. Demczur used his squeegee to jimmy the door open and then cut through the brittle plasterboard wall. They managed to get out of the building minutes before it collapsed. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

28

Porn Snowmen

16th-century Belgians built porn snowmen. The Miracle of 1511 was a huge winter festival held in Brussels, when lots of elaborate snow figures were made - more than half of them of a sexual or scatological nature. People were mad (at the government and the harsh winter), and the snow things gave them an outlet to vent. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

27

Royal Underwear Purchasing

There's a market for royal underwear. People exist willing to pay top dollar for underwear worn by famous people - not just celebrities, but also queens. Pairs of Queen Victoria's bloomers have sold for over $15,000, and a pair of Elizabeth Il's (dirty) undies fetched $18,000 on eBay. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Cheating the Electric Chair

A death row prisoner tried to get too fat for the electric chair. In 1952, Donald Snyder was sentenced to death for killing a 9-year- old girl. Resolved to grow too big to be executed, he put on 150 pounds in less than one year. It didn't work- when the time came, he fit the chair just fine. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

25

Pineapples as Status Symbols

CRACKED.COM Pineapples used to be a status symbol. For centuries, pineapples in Europe were rare, exotic, and above all expensive, as they were imported from across the ocean. The rich would often get one-not to eat it, but to show off their wealth by parading the fruit in front of other people. — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

24

Teenage Nazi Hunters

The Oversteegen sisters were teenage Nazi hunters. Freddie and Truus Oversteegen were only 14 and 17, but did their part in helping the Dutch resistance take care of Nazi occupiers. They would seduce Nazis in bars and then lead into the woods- where a resistance fighter would shoot the Nazi creeping on underage girls. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

23

Women's Restrooms

CRACKED.COM Women's restrooms weren't always bathrooms. In Victorian England, women were thought of as delicate creatures that would crumble at the drop of a hat-so public rooms were set up, with chairs and couches, for the ladies to seek shelter from the scary outside. Once toilets became a thing, those were just added OMEN to existing restrooms. — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

22

Superman: The Movie

Richard Donner was never told what the budget for Superman was. It's a miracle Donner managed to make such a beloved movie, as the producers for some reason wouldn't let him know how much money he had to work with. They'd just tell him, You can't do that, without further guidance. Не didn't even get to see the final cut until the premiere. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

21

George Washington wasn't first

CRACKED.COM George Washington was actually the 15th U.S. president. Before Washington, 14 people held the office of President of the Continental Congress between 1774 and 1788, when the Constitution created a new executive branch. Those guys aren't officially counted, mostly because it was a largely ceremonial position with no real power. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

20

Who hated New Coke?

CRACKED.COM NEW cc Conservatism played a big part in the failure of New Coke. desmark The backlash against the new recipe was particularly strong amongst Southern conservatives, who saw it as a new aggression from those damn Yankees. A University of Mississippi professor called it an intrusion on tradition that Southerners won't like, regardless of how it tastes. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

19

British Clowns

CRACKED.COM British clowns use eggs as a makeup registry. Over 250 ceramic eggs are housed in the London's Clown Gallery-Museum, each painted with the signature look of a particular clown as a form of copyright protection. The gallery- museum is housed inside a church, because clowns are apparently trying to be creepy. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

18

Alcoholism's Poison Treatment

CRACKED.COM A treatment for alcoholism involves poisoning the patient. Disulfiram was the first drug approved by the FDA to treat alcohol dependence. It's never the first option, though, as its effect is as simple as it is devious: it makes alcohol poisonous. (Or rather, it interferes with the body's ability to make it not poisonous). — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

17

Doom

Someone calculated just how fast the Doom guy is. Redditor u/Phytor has done the math on this long-debated issue. Не concluded that Mr. Doom Man weighs 1,204 lbs, and still manages to walk at a speed of 49.5 miles per hour. That's faster than Usain Bolt (on a motorbike). CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

16

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: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

15

Nintendo's Price Fixing

Nintendo ran a M price-fixing cartel for years. In the '90s, getting a Nintendo game in Spain cost you three times as much as it did in Britain or Germany. The European Commission fined the company 149 million euro in 2002 for rigging the market. In 1991, they had been found guilty of the same racket in the U.S. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

14

Whipping Tom

Whipping Tom was London's serial spanker. 200 years before Jack the Ripper, London's Fleet Street was stalked by Whipping Tom-not a serial killer, but a serial spanker. Tom would lift women's dresses and spank them on the buttocks, yelling Spanko! Another, more violent Whipping Tom started assaulting women years later. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

13

Mickey Rourke's Intense Research

Mickey Rourke spent some time in a Russian prison for Iron Man 2. Without telling anyone, Rourke took a plane to бло Moscow and paid a erroll prison an extended visit, the better to play ex-con Ivan Vanko. Не also put a me lot of effort into learning the language. In the end, Marvel Studios cut most of his performance, which Rourke was furious about. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

12

Stayin' Alive

The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive is about what a dump NYC was. The Gibb brothers have explained that the group's most emblematic song is not about disco dancing at all, but about how hard it was to survive in 1977 New York City. They didn't even know the plot of Saturday Night Fever when they wrote the song. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

11

Chuck Jones on Space Jam

Chuck Jones hated Space Jam. As a huge part of Looney Tune's success, Jones knew Bugs Bunny better than anyone else- and according to him, Bugs wouldn't need help from Michael Jordan (or anyone) to deal with any basketball aliens. (Also, Porky would never say, I think I wet myself.) GRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

10

The truth about solar panels

Solar panels are less eco-friendly than you think. Photovoltaic cells get cheaper every day - but they have a limited lifespan. As recycling isn't widespread, lots of panels wind up in landfills, with all the potentially toxic stuff they contain. Even clean energy can't help being dirty. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

9

The Original Groundhog Day

CRACKED.COM 12:01 PM was Groundhog Day before Groundhog Day. The 1990 short film starring Kurtwood Smith doesn't just have the same premise as the Bill Murray movie, but a lot of the elements and plot beats are the same. The writer and the director reportedly tried to sue the makers of Groundhog Day, but ultimately gave up. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

8

Cobra Commander in Springfield

A Springfield, IL officially honored Cobra Commander. As Springfield was hosting a big G.I. Joe convention in 2015, the event was celebrated by handing the keys to the city to the show's villain. It kinda checks out, Considering Illinois' long history of government corruption. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

7

Rick & Morty's Inspiration

CRACKED.COM Rick & Morty's Council of Ricks is based on The Fantastic Four. A body composed of versions from different realities of a genius scientist? Reed Richards did it first. The Interdimensional Council of Reeds was founded by three Fantastic Men who finagled themselves an Infinity Gauntlet. — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

6

Robocop

Paul Verhoeven thought RoboCop would make a stupid movie. Verhoeven called the script stupid garbage and American nonsense after reading just a few pages. His wife Martine, though, convinced him to give the story a shot-so Verhoeven read the script more carefully, and saw a layer of philosophy or theology under the gory sci-fi action. GRACKED COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

5

Lemons and Flu Season

The 1918 flu pandemic caused a lemon boom. During the Spanish flu, lemons became the most popular home remedy for the illness that was ravaging the world. It started with an official-looking health campaign by lemon growers - and soon enough, lemons were being touted as a miracle cure, with prices skyrocketing. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Random Facts to Make Your Life More Factual and/or Random

4

The Truth About Mindfulness

Mindfulness can cause depression. Mindfulness is the latest fad touted as an easy fix for your mental health, but researchers say that, while it can be helpful, it has been overhyped. Data compiled from dozens of studies show mindfulness can occasionally worsen anxiety and depression- or even outright cause these conditions. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

3

Amelio Robles Avila

CRACKED.COM Amelio Robles Ávila was a transgender badass. Despite what some would have you believe, trans people have always existed-and even kicked ass in the battlefield. Robles Ávila rose to the rank of colonel during the Mexican Revolution. Не was a respected, courageous commander- and would shoot anyone who tried to expose him. — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

2

The Origins of Neckties

Neckties were originally worn by Croatian mercenaries. During the Thirty Years' War, in the 1600s, France hired Croatian mercenaries who wore cravats as a kind of neck armor. After the war, French noblemen took a fancy to these scarves, which were then further adopted by the English, and progressively evolved into the strangling symbol of office drudgery. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

1

Batman: The Musical

Warner Bros. wanted a Batman musical. In the late '90s, Warner Bros. approached songwriter Jim Steinman to create, of all things, an official Batman musical for Broadway. It was never produced, but some of the songs (sung by Batman, Joker, and Catwoman) can be heard on YouTube, while another song ended up in a Meat Loaf album. CRACKED.COM — Source: 18 Random Facts For Your General Edification

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