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33 Random Facts Presented As Sacrifice to the Fact Dragon

Oh Fact Dragon, accept this sacri-fact-ifice!

33 Random Facts Presented As Sacrifice to the Fact Dragon

October 22, 2023

All of our grandmothers told us the story. A great dragon loomed over a mountain village and demanded that upon every moon, the people must come together and collect their coolest and most interesting fun facts about this, that or some other things. They don’t need to be connected by any sort of theme or premise, beyond being a cool and interesting thing the dragon could potentially bust out during a dinner party, or whatever. If the dragon wasn’t satisfied, he would make the village his lunch.

Today, in honor of our ancestors, we present a new list of fun facts for the pleasure of the hungry Fact Dragon. We hope that he is bemused enough by them to spare our people for another couple of weeks. If you happen to learn something fun from this list in the mean time, all the better, but make no mistake, it’s primarily for the dragon!

33

Roly Polies

Roly Polies help decompose metal in the soil. GRACKED COM They are capable of taking in heavy metals such as copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium and crystallize these into spherical deposits in the midgut. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

32

Avian Rap

Birds living in cities perform a type of avian rap that their rural counterparts don't. GRACKED.COM City birds also sing at a higher pitch and will try out different song types. Experts say city birds have adapted to counter back- ground noise and increase their chances of finding a mate. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

31

Peter Pan's Copyright

Peter Pan is the only UK copyright that has been extended in perpetuity. CRACKED COM This means Great Or- mond Street Hospital can receive royalties forever. This has earned it the name The Copyright which never grows up. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

30

Illegal Fireworks

Fireworks are totally illegal in Florida but are sold to ordinary people in huge quantities. CRACKED.COM Hundreds of stores across the state sell to anyone who signs a waiver saying they are for agricultural use to scare birds away from crops. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

29

America's First Bank Robbery

America's First Bank Robbery was nearly the perfect crime. DAY GRACKED COM $162,821 ($3.8 million to- day) had been taken from vaults of the Bank of Penn- sylvania in 1798. The cul- prit Isaac Davis was caught because he deposited the money back into the same bank. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

28

Butt Plugs

Butt plugs were sold as a cure for insanity. CRACKED.COM Dr. Young, of Dr. Young's Ide- al Rectal Dilators, wrote claiming that at least three-fourths of all the howling maniacs of the world were curable in a few weeks' time by the applica- tion of orificial methods. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

27

Russia Bombed The Ice

Russia bombed their Sukhona River in winter to break up the ice. CRACKED COM The ice dams that form in the harsh winters can cause the river to overflow, endangering 4,500 people living nearby. Two Su-34 Fullback tactical bomb- ers were ordered to bomb the dam every hour. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

26

Freedom

Richie Haven's iconic song Freedom came about by accident. Не just started playing it at Woodstock because he didn't have anything else he could play, but needed to stay on the stage. Later, to learn how to play it, he watched himself in the Woodstock movie. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

25

Anderson Cooper: Origins

Anderson Cooper launched his journalist career by forging a press pass. CRACKED.COM After college, Cooper forged a pass and gained entrance to Myanmar to meet with students fight- ing the Burmese govern- ment. Не ultimately sold his home-made news seg- ments to Channel One. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

24

Eminem v iTunes

Eminem sued iTunes for deductions on digital download royalties. CRACKED.COM In the early days of iTunes, Universal Music Group deducted artist's iTunes royalties for costs such as packaging and breakages on digital downloads. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

23

Chile Typo

No one noticed Chile misspelled their own name on their 50 peso coins. CRACKED.COM Chile printed a number of 50 peso coins in 2008 that misspelled the name of their country as Chiie. No one noticed until 2009, at which point the director of the Mint lost his job. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

22

Adidas Trademark

Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

21

Amish Christmas

The Amish actually celebrate Christmas twice in a two-week period. The first celebration is on Dec 25, and the second one on Jan 6 - Christmas used to be celebrated all over the world on Jan 6 until relatively recently, and the Amish kept that tradition (but also took on the new one). CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

20

Spider-Man & WTC

2002's Spider-Man was supposed to have a scene with the WTC. It was even featured in an early teaser trailer but, for highly obvious reasons, was cut from the final movie. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

19

The Candy Man

Sammy Davis Jr thought his iconic song The Candy Man would bomb. His exact words: This record is going straight into the toilet. Not just around the rim, but into the bowl, and it may just pull my whole career down with it. It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

18

Japanese Eggs

Thanks to a specific process, you can't get salmonella from Japanese eggs. In Japan, they use machines that process eggs and make sure they're okay to eat raw, and each machine can process 33 eggs a second. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

17

This was later solved by Tony Stark

Not even Stan Lee knew how the Hulk's pants stay on. CRACKED.COM Lee liked to work science into all of his stories, but the Hulk's miraculous inde- structible pants were the only time he never had a clue how the exact science behind it worked. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

16

Steve McQueen & Close Encounters

Steve McQueen was offered the leading role of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. CRACKED.COM McQueen declined since he couldn't cry on cue. Steven Spiel- berg offered to remove the scene but McQueen said it was the best part of the film. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

15

Doctors Get Swords!

Finnish people receive a top hat and a sword when completing their doctoral degrees. CRACKED.COM The sword comes with a scabbard, a black or golden scab- bard holder and the golden emblem of the University. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

14

The Alaskan Oil Pipeline

A drunk person shot a hole in the Alaskan oil pipeline. 562 CRACKED.COM Clean up involved digging ditches and holes to cap- ture the oil, which was be- ing vacuumed into trucks. Daniel Carson Lewis had to pay for the $17 million cleanups and received 16 years in jail. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

13

Bruce Lee v Chuck Norris

Bruce Lee's iconic on-screen fight with Chuck Norris was filmed illegally. They fought in The Way Of The Dragon at the Colosseum in Rome, and really filmed part of the scene there - filming there is against the law, but they bribed some officials and hid filming equipment in bags. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

12

Bears Are Like Cats

Bears kind of act like big cats - they purr when they're happy or content. That purr-like sound is something they produce when they're say, eating a delicious snack, feeling comfortable, or nursing (if they're a cub). CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

11

Civil War Veterans Reunion

There was a Civil War veterans' reunion in 1938 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the 75th anniversary of the battle, and about 1800 vets from both sides attended - the youngest was 88 years old, while the oldest was 118 (so he claimed, anyway). CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

10

Spongebob & Kids Brains

Apparently, SpongeBob Squarepants is messing with kids' brains. That's according to a 2011 University of Virginia study, which found that the show impairs kids' readiness for learning (the issue is that the frequent camera cuts disrupts their attention span). CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

9

B-52 Bombers

A B-52 bomber can have its engine kickstarted with explosive cartridges. CRACKED.COM The explosives can be in- serted into the bomber's engines to get them up and running more quickly if needed. The cart start reduces takeoff time from about an hour down to ten minutes. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

8

The Darker Pretty Woman

The original ending of Pretty Woman was much darker. CRACKED COM Originally titled 3,000, the movie ended with Julia Rob- erts' character being tossed out of a limo into a dirty alley and thrown $3,000 in cash. The screenplay changed when Disney took over pro- duction. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

7

Lobster Underbelly

The underbelly membrane of lobsters is as tough as industrial rubber. CRACKED.COM It is the toughest material of all natural hydrogels, includ- ing collagen, animal skins, and natural rubber. The membrane is about as strong as the rubber used to make car tires, garden hoses, and conveyor belts. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

6

Playing 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: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

5

Iceland's Split

Iceland is split between the Eurasian and North American plate. CRACKED.COM Although Iceland is considered political- ly as part of Europe, it is geographically North American and European at the same time. — Source: 20 Now-You-Know Facts

4

The Colosseum's Heavy Awning

The Roman Colosseum had a cloth awning that weighed about 24 tons. It was supported by an elaborate network of ropes, and it was there to protect the people in the Colosseum from the sun. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

3

Papal Medal Typo

The Vatican had to pull 6000 papal medals in 2013 because of a typo. Instead of Jesus, the medals said Lesus - and, of course, collectors snapped up the medals with the misprint when they had the chance. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

2

Can Monkeys Talk?

Some monkeys are (theoretically) capable of human speech. Those monkeys (like the Japanese Macaque) have the right vocal anatomy, but not the brain anatomy they'd need to actually talk. CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

1

Serial Killer Tiger?

In Nepal, there was a tiger that killed 400 people in the early 1900s. She was nicknamed The Demon of Chompawat, and was apparently the deadliest tiger in history (until she got killed by a hunter and tracker). CRACKED.COM — Source 13 Interesting Facts To Up-Level Our Knowledge Of The World

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