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PICTOFACT

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31 Now-You-Know Facts About Science, History, And More

By:: Cracked Writers; Timon DJ Spajic

October 01, 2021

31 Now-You-Know Facts About Science, History, And More

The world is filled to the brim with interesting facts, trivia, intel and general knowledge and inspiration. When we consider the areas of science and history alone, well, it's enough to fill several lifetimes of study. Since most us are unfortunately constrained to this one life, well, we best get cracking.

So buckle up, because we've assembled more than thirty now you know facts about science, history and other fascinating subjects that are sure to delight and surprise you.

For example, you might find it surprising to hear, but the first-ever food consumed on the surface of the moon was a wafer and wine, as part of the Christian communion.

We bet you didn't know that even the talented Hillary Duff required an acting coach on the set of Lizzie McGuire.

Want to learn more? Get to scrolling! Here's more about that and 30 other interesting tidbits about space, art, movies, and more:

31

Hilary Duff needed an acting coach on set of Lizzie McGuire. After filming the pilot, Disney hired an acting coach to help the children on set. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — VICE

30

Taylor Swift grew up on Christmas tree farm She spent some of childhood on Pine Ridge Farm in Pennsylvania, which she honors in her Christmas single aptly called Christmas Tree Farm. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Vogue

29

Over two years, Michel Lotito ate an entire Cessna 150 Airplane C-GNBL Mr. Eat Everything ate 9 tons of metal througout his life. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Mental Floss

28

Buzz Aldrin took communion on the moon The wafer and wine were the first food consumed on the moon's surface. Neil Armstrong respectfully watched but didn't comment on the Christian sacrement. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Snopes

27

Cicada wings are built in such a way that they kill bacteria they touch. The wings are covered with tiny pillars that trap bacteria, then slowly tear them apart (the more elastic a bacterium's skin, the more vulnerable it is). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Phys.org

26

In 2018, Russian nuclear scientists were arrested for Bitcoin mining on the job. (illustration) Apparently, they tried to use one of the most powerful supercomputers in Russia, at a top-secret nuclear warhead facility, to mine ВТС. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — BBC

25

Rebecca the raccoon was President Coolidge's pet at the White House Gifted as a Thanksgiving dinner, she was treated as a pet and traveled with the First Family on vacation. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — CBS

24

Some lion cubs can take down antelopes. In the wild, one female lion has been observed teaching her three-month-old cub to catch a small antelope. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — National Geographic

23

A dye-maker added animal blood to a red dye to accidentally create Prussian Blue Prussian Blue is used in a pill to cure metal poisoning. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — My Modern Net

22

Michelangelo's David has a clear sign of heart disease. It's a bulging vein on the right side of his neck - AKA jugular venous distension. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — USAToday

21

Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler promised to spend the prize money as irrationally as possible. He's an economist who studies how rational decision-making often takes a backseat to gut feelings, and they gave him the prize for creating a more realistic analysis of how people think and behave when making economic decisions. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Guardian

20

Picasso was once suspected of stealing the Mona Lisa in 1911. One of Picasso's friends had sold him art stolen from the Louvre before and reported him to the police. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Mental Floss

19

Genghis Khan let his daughters rule allied kingdoms. He'd marry off his daughters to the kings of allied kingdoms, have all their other wives dismissed, and put the daughters in charge while he called their husbands to fight in his wars (where they usually got killed). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Tyee

18

In 1925, Kate McHale Slaughterback killed 140 rattlesnakes. She was out with her adopted son Ernie in Colorado and became surrounded by over a hundred rattlesnakes. She shot them with her rifle until she ran out of ammo, then took a nearby sign (it's believed to have said No Hunting) and killed every last rattlesnake. She had to club them non-stop for two hours. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Greeley Museums

17

The 7-minute shot in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's episode Charlie Work was done by a guy walking and holding a camera. They didn't put the camera on a dolly or a pre-programmed rig -- it was just camera operator Adam Sklena walking backwards, and he did it in on the first take. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Collider

16

Tater tots were invented to use up leftover potato chunks in the Ore-Ida factory. They get their shape by being extruded Play-Doh- style and sliced. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — OreIda

15

Some fish eggs can survive being eaten and pooped out by waterfowl. It might actually explain how fish miraculously appear where they've never existed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Audubon

14

Animators who had fallen out of favor working on the Dreamworks project The Prince of Egypt were punished by being banished to work on Shrek. Shreked was the term used. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — CBR

13

In 1872, hunters in India observed and 'rescued' a boy trailing a pack of wolves. Не only ate meat, hated clothes, and sharpened his teeth on bones. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — History.com

12

Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson has never approved a Hobbes plush toy. Не says it's ambiguous whether Hobbes is real or a stuffed animal & he won't mess with that. It's estimated he's left $300 million on the table as a result. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Big Think

11

Biologists don't fully understand how eels reproduce. No one has ever seen how they spawn. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Discover

10

When Diana Ross sang I'm Coming Out she had no idea what it meant to closeted people. When she found out, she accused her studio of trying to ruin her career. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Know More

9

One popular way to see if someone was a witch was actually to weigh them. Witches were so light that they could float on water, the belief went, so suspects would get weighed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

8

The infamous John Henry Doc Holliday was an actual doctor (of dentistry). Way before he was in the shootout at the OK Corral, he'd gotten a dentistry degree and started running a practice that turned out to be successful. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Signs saying Ye aren't supposed to be pronounced with a why sound. No 42 YE OLDE LONDON No 42 The letter Ye is supposed to be pronounced th, so the proper pronunciation of Ye in, say, Ye Olde is just the. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

6

When pirates caught a merchant vessel, some of its crew joined the pirates. That was relatively common, anyway, and the reason was simple: the conditions aboard merchant (and military) ships were terrible. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Gigantic dinosaurs look super heavy, but they were actually surprisingly light. 3-FINGERED HAND Some of them, anyway, including the largest ones - and it's all because they had really light bones, plus air sacs throughout their body. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

4

The popularity of the death by meteor theory of dinosaur extinction is new. Other ideas include a ton of volcanic eruptions, or a similar worldwide catastrophe - but the meteor thing emerged as the leading theory in the '80s. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Salami are completely uncooked, but still totally safe to eat as they are. The curing process, which involves the sausage maturing in its skin, makes them safe and gives them their characteristic intense flavor. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — BBC

2

The Statue of Liberty sways a little during a strong wind-up to 3 inches. That happens in 50 mph winds, and the torch alone swings up to 6 inches. But considering the statue is over 151 feet high, that's imperceptible from the ground. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — NPS

1

Justin Timberlake was paid $6 million to sing the I'm Lovin' It jingle M i'm lovin' it™ Timberlake recorded the McDonald's jingle expanded into a full song, written by Pharrell Williams. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — NY Times

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