12 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia We Carved Into the Tree Where We First Kissed
Mark Zuckerberg wants A.I. avatars to be your friend, and Russell Westbrook wants A.I. avatars to plan your funeral.
Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.
One Horse’s Sperm Is Responsible for the Entire 2025 Kentucky Derby Field
All 19 horses in this year’s competition were descendants of Secretariat, the horse who won the Triple Crown and set a Derby record in 1973.
Netflix Is Aping Social Media
Starting next week, Netflix is rolling out its biggest redesign in years, ditching thumbnails for short clips of shows to lure you in, similar to YouTube. On mobile in particular, they’re adding a vertical feed that mimics TikTok.
No More Nintendo 3DS in the Louvre
For more than 10 years, the Louvre would let you rent a 3DS that was stocked with audio tours of the museum, and high-res images of the artwork that you could zoom in on. They’re ending the program to focus on a mysterious new self-guided tour system.
How Much Is the Podcast Industry Worth?
The Interactive Advertising Bureau said it was worth $2.4 billion in 2024, but that was based on strictly American audio ads. Another research firm looked at worldwide ad sales on video platforms as well, and says it's actually a $7.3 billion industry.
The Golden Globes Are Adding a Podcast Award
Starting in 2026, idiots and ex-A-listers will compete for the Best Podcast category.
Lady Gaga Broke Madonna’s Record
Madonna set the record for largest audience amassed for a female artist in 2024 at 1.6 million. Lady Gaga followed her up less than a year later, drawing 2.5 million to the same venue, Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
Visualizing the Truthiness of ‘Based-on-a-True-Story’ Movies
InformationIsBeautiful.net has mapped out some movies with a scene-by-scene rating of how true the story really is.
Russell Westbrook’s A.I. Funeral Planning App
The NBA great announced a start-up called Eazewell that itself sounds like an A.I. chatbot fever dream. It aims to simplify the funeral planning process by using A.I. to select venues and amenities based on your budget and preferences, and includes an A.I. avatar that will make phone calls to funeral homes.
The Whole ‘Lord of the Rings’ Thing May Be Getting Old for New Zealanders
Wellington Airport is removing its huge sculpture of Gandalf riding an eagle, with the airport’s chief executive saying, “It’s been quite a Lord of the Rings-heavy storytelling theme in here. Now we’re looking to change that to something new.”
MoviePass’ Weird New Pivot
MoviePass’ new app, Mogul, is trying to be DraftKings for movies, allowing users to bet on box office numbers in exchange for movie memorabilia.
Danny DeVito’s Father Kept a Box Full of Teeth
Charlie’s family tooth jar on Always Sunny was inspired by a pitch from Danny DeVito in their first meeting: “My Dad used to keep a box of like, watches and teeth, and it could be like that.”
Some Popes Studied for the Conclave by Watching ‘Conclave’
An unnamed cleric said, “Some have watched it in the cinema,” leading up to the actual Conclave. Many of the cardinals were appointed by the last Pope, meaning they’ve never done this before, and are new to the politics and drama of the Vatican, and the movie is a surprisingly accurate primer.
