15 Facts About Fighting Celebs And Fighting Planets
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This week, we look a close look back at the Goosebumps book series, because if you were ever 12 years old, it turns out other people once were as well. That meant looking at the author, the best books, the weirdest books, and kids’ horror in general. Of course, there are other frightening things out there, from Willie Nelson in a black belt to giant planets coming our way.
Here's a look back at the facts we learned this week. These short summaries are not meant to be appreciated by themselves—each one links to a full article we put out this past week with much more info, so click every one that interests you, or we will sentence you to a dental appointment.
1. Separate from the movie, the board game Clue got a 2011 TV show.
It starred a bunch of teenagers and was more a series of references to the game rather than an adaptation of the murder plot. For example, instead of a murder suspect named Colonel Mustard, a kid plays a video game called M.U.S.T.A.R.D. and gets the rank of colonel.
2. Bill Burr and Molly Ringwald made the most boring sitcom of the '90s
It also starred Lauren Graham and Jenna Elfman, and yet it completely vanished from the memories of anyone who watched it.
3. Jupiter this week came closer to Earth than it had in 59 years.
Despite that fact, the united militaries of the world passed up on the chance to attack the rival planet.
4. Despite becoming a symbol for the need for health care reform, Walter White actually had health insurance.
His family simply declined to use it and instead went to an out-of-network doctor. Of course, the series wasn’t actually about health care at all.
5. Before writing kids’ horror, R.L. Stine was a comedy writer.
He founded his own comedy magazine, Bananas. There used to be quite a few magazines named for synonyms of “MAD.”
6. A famous space chimp had no name, until he completed his space mission.
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7. Movie studios use CGI to clear faces of pimples, wrinkles, red eyes.
More controversially, they digitally snip away at actors’ ears and noses, to keep them looking young. This is routine.
8. Tom Hardy won an MMA tournament, under an assumed name.
He called himself Edward Hardy and won the 2022 UMAC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship, his second championship win this year.
9. Someone planned to bomb Target stores to make money in the stock market.
The Florida man planned to buy cheap Target stock after his attack crashed the price, but his partner turned out to be an FBI informant.
10. During one US presidential election, the two opposing candidates had the same running mate.
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11. A California couple died having sex on a famous piano.
This piano in San Francisco’s Condor Club ascended and descended from the ceiling using hydraulics, and it shot up fatally while they lay on it.
12. Schools have raised money by torturing students with “Mmmbop.”
Stop the Bop fundraisers play the Hanson song continuously, until students and staff donate enough money.
13. Coffee anarchists ruled Germany for a week, and declared war on Switzerland.
The Münchner Räterepublik, which took over in 1919, tried some strange ideas, including money that expired unless you regularly paid to have the government stamp it.
14. The trailer to Reacher made a fan so mad, he went to the government.
He complained to New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority that the film omitted one shot from the trailer, and Paramount agreed to refund his ticket.
15. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
He modeled it after his own dentist’s chair, and when the first execution resulted in the inmate’s suffering, rather than the predicted instant death, he declared it a success.