13 Counterintuitive Pieces Of Trivia
![13 Counterintuitive Pieces Of Trivia](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/7/6/903276_320x180.jpg)
Ah, trivia. It's the stuff that keeps us up at night, the questions that tickle our brains and make us wonder, "How did I not know that?!" It's a never-ending source of knowledge that can be used to impress friends, family, and strangers alike.
From President John F. Kennedy's last-minute Cuban cigar order to the fact that drinking coffee can help protect your liver, this list has it all. We'll explore the scandal of "Carpet-gate," the Michelin Guide's secretive and unaccountable reviews, and the surprising truth that grizzly bears are more powerful than polar bears. We'll even learn about Tecwen Whittock, the man who coughed his way to infamy on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and Andre the Giant, who wasn't as tall as advertised.
So, if you're ready to explore the world of counterintuitive trivia, then you've come to the right place. Let's dive in and see what we can uncover.
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Cigars Before Embargo.
![CRACKED KENNEDY: CIGARS BEFORE EMBARGO. Right before he signed the Cuban trade embargo, President John F. Kennedy got his hands on 1 ,200 Cuban cigars. Talk about planning ahead.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/1/902491.jpg)
Coffee + liver = Yay.
![GRACKED COFFEE: THE LIVER'S BEST FRIEND? Drinking coffee can help lower your chances of getting liver disease. Turns out, a regular cup of joe isn't such a bad habit after all.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/0/902490.jpg)
Mystery diners, eh?
![CRACKED MICHELIN GUIDE REVIEWS: SECRETIVE AND UNACCOUNTABLE? The people who review restaurants for the Michelin Guide stay anonymous, and they're protected by a lack of any available legal recourse against bad reviews.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/8/902488.jpg)
Solved.
![GRACKED KEEP THEM SAFE, NOT SEDATED. In elder care homes, putting black mats in front of exits can help stop people with dementia from wandering off without having to give them medication or lock them up. They see the doormat as a hole and avoid it.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/9/902489.jpg)
Grizzlies overpower polar bears.
![CRACKED GRIZZLIES ALWAYS WIN THE BATTLE OF THE BEARS. Polar bears are usually pushed away from their food sources by grizzly bears, even though polar bears are usually bigger and more powerful than grizzly bears. Turns out, bear turf wars are serious, grueling business.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/7/902487.jpg)
Inspired?
![CRACKED COYOTE UGLY: INSPIRED BY A GQ ARTICLE. QX16-03 30 HID 44270 GH 4670 15-2038 NATION SURME Wt DON'T TU De KODO NO The movie Coyote Ugly was inspired by a GQ article written in 1997 by Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert. The article was about her time working as a bartender at the Village Idiot, a dive bar in the East Village of New York City.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/1/902481.jpg)
Cheater's cough medicine: "Tecwen Relief".
![GRACKED A WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? CHEATER HAD TO TRADEMARK HIS NAME. Tecwen Whittock, who coughed during Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and helped his buddy cheat his way to a fortune, had to register his name as a trademark after a company tried to make money by selling a cough medicine called Tecwen Relief.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/6/902486.jpg)
Giant in name only?
![GRACKED ANDRE THE GIANT: NOT AS TALL AS ADVERTISED. Andre the Giant was said to be really tall on TV: 7'4. Не was actually a bit shorter than that, though - about 6'9 and three-quarters. Still pretty gigantic, admittedly.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/3/902483.jpg)
Ancient Misconceptions.
![CRACKED ANCIENT PEOPLE THOUGHT BIRDS COULD TRANSFORM. People in ancient times thought that certain birds, like Redstarts and Garden Warblers, could change into different kinds of birds during the wintertime. This was an attempt to explain what we now understand is bird migration.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/5/902485.jpg)
Smoking pays for China.
![GRACKED SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM - THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT DOES, APPARENTLY, NE T 21 In China, taxes on tobacco have gone up in recent times, and now make up 7.5% of the government's income, making it the single biggest money-maker for the Chinese government.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/4/902484.jpg)
Debt kills.
![GRACKED DEBT CAN BE DEADLY. Having debt can even increase your risk of suicide by more than two and a half times - - even when taking into account things like age, income, and mental health.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/0/902480.jpg)
Ancient, but not relevant.
![GRACKED A WIFE WHO NEVER FARTED IN HER HUSBAND'S LAP? UNPRECEDENTED. This ancient joke, considered the world's oldest, is from way back in 1900 BC. It goes: Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/9/902479.jpg)
Navy's too loud: permanent damage.
![GRACKED THE U.S. NAVY IS PAINFULLY LOUD. The U.S. Navy's loud pinging and metallic shrieking noises can cause permanent hearing damage to sea animals if they're louder than 210 decibels.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/2/902482.jpg)