30 Trivia Gems Unearthed From the Knowledge Mines

Think you know everything already, huh? Well, did you know astronauts can’t drink fizzy beverages like Coke, Sprite or other sodas in space. In zero gravity, the bubbles behave differently and stay suspended in the liquid, so they can cause gastrointestinal distress. Oh, and remember that song “Macarena”? Of course you do. But we bet you don’t remember that it’s about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend while he's drafted.

Here are 29 other interesting factoids about movies, science, history and more…

30

Astronauts can't drink fizzy beverages like Coke or Sprite while in space. multi TASTE PRODUCT ARCE les fssat I a La LUK Coca-Cola pack This 0.9 kcal Coca-Cola ca-Cola ICE 1886 The carbonation acts differently in space - the bubbles stay in the liquid rather than popping out, so they can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Franklin Institute

29

The song Macarena is about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend while he's drafted One translation is of the lyrics include Macarena has a boyfriend who is named/ Who is named with the last name Vitorino/And while he was being sworn in as a conscript/ She's giving it to two friends NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — HuffPost

28

New Order is the remaining band members of Joy Division, created after the lead singer died by suicide. Joy Division (best known for Love Will Tear Us Apart) members regrouped under a new name, retiring Joy Division songs, after their loss. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Radio X

27

The planet Uranus was discovered before the continent of Antarctica. Antarctica was discovered in 1820, but Uranus was the first planet discovered via telescope in 1781. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — NASA and National Geographic

26

Cicada shells are a vital part of a traditional Chinese craft called hairy monkeys. It involves making figures about one inch high out of dried cicada shells and magnolia bulbs, so that they look like, well, very small hairy monkeys. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — China Daily

25

As of May 2021, Bitcoin eats up about 0.55% of the world's electricity production. The rough amount is 110 Terawatt Hours per year, which is basically the same as the power consumption of a small country, like Malaysia or Sweden. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — HBR

24

Andrew Jackson's pet parrot swore through his funeral The president's parrot had picked up some foul language, and its loud curses resulted in it being escorted from Jackson's funeral in his house. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — University of Virginia

23

Throwing rice isn't bad for birds. There's no proof that the wedding tradition results in poor health of birds. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Snopes

22

Being a lion cub is really, really tough. They have to compete with other cubs for food, plus they have to avoid predators and any adult lions that take over the pride -- all in all, about 80% of them die before reaching their 2nd birthday. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Google Books

21

At one point, they wanted Mike Judge to do the American version of The Office. They sent him the British version, along with some of its reviews, one of which said The Office succeeds where movies like Office Space failed -- and, apparently, that's part of why he passed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Entertainment Weekly

20

The crowd noises for Spartacus were recorded at a college football game. Before a 1959 MSU vs. Notre Dame game, the Spartacus sound crew showed up and asked the 76,000 fans to scream as loud as they could. They screamed, among others, the legendary line I am Spartacus! NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Lansing City Pulse

19

Rembrandt's Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III has been stolen 4 times The 9x12 inch painting has been nicknamed the takeaway Rembrandt as its small size has led to its numerous thefts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Art Newspaper

18

Before he got married, Charles Darwin made a list of pros and cons for marriage. The pro column included Charms of music & female chit-chat and object to be beloved & played with, while the con column had less money for books &C and Perhaps my wife wont like London; then the sentence is banishment & degradation into indolent, idle fool NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Darwin Project

17

You can die from carbon monoxide in a car if your exhaust pipe is snowed in. If you're starting a car that's snowed in, make sure the exhaust pipe is clear -- otherwise, carbon monoxide could flood your passenger compartment pretty quickly. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Snopes

16

There's a white shark cafe in the Pacific where all the sharks go. It's a Colorado-sized patch of ocean about 1,200 nautical miles east of Hawaii, and great white sharks from the west coasts of Mexico and the U.S. swim there en masse every year. Once there, they dive deep below the surface and then come back, over and over, for days - - but it's not clear why. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Quartz

15

J.R.R. Tolkien was rejected for a Nobel Prize in 1961. Apparently LOTR had not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Tolkien Library

14

The father of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton still gets royalties. For three decades he's been spending them on college scholarships in his son's honor. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — LoudWire

13

In 1896, the train carrying Georgia Tech's football team to play Auburn skidded all the way through town and didn't stop until it was five miles away. GT players walked back and lost 45-0. SHELL AKLE GREASE SHELL AXLE GREASE Auburn fans had greased the tracks. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — War Eagle Reader

12

Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson published his bank account details in an effort to prove that the idea of identity theft was hyperbolic nonsense. Within days, and without his authorization, Clarkson's account was debited £500, payable to the British Diabetic Association. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Guardian

11

John Cazale, who played Fredo in the first two Godfather films, only made five movies. All five were nominated for Best Picture Academy Awards. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Flickering Myth

10

Two donkeys together for 10 years at a Polish ZOO were separated because of complaints they were mating in front of children. A petition with 7,000 signatures reunited them. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Star

9

In 1996, McDonalds tried to go gourmet with the Arch Deluxe. Despite spending $100 million on advertising and twice that on testing, it was a complete flop. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Know More

8

There's a popular superstition that witches can actually turn into butterflies. They'd do that to, well, steal butter (and milk) - that's how the butterfly got its name. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

7

There were a bunch of minor, petty kingdoms throughout Ancient Egypt. They all had varying degress of independence, and some of them later provided rulers that ruled over all of Egypt. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Turns out, the Wild West gave us the phrase riding shotgun (but not directly). In those days, someone with a shotgun or another weapon would sit next to a carriage driver, though they didn't call it riding shotgun. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

5

We kind of owe the existence of workers' comp to 18th-century pirates. It was a pretty dangerous profession, so pirates figured out a compensation scheme for injuries, and their system was one of the earliest around. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Science actually doesn't have even a single complete T-Rex skeleton. There are around 15 good skeletons, and two are so good as to be considered almost complete, but we don't have any complete ones at all. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

3

A chicken tender isn't a cutesy food name - it's an actual part of a chicken. Tenders are the two pieces of meat that are very lightly attached to each chicken breast - the attachment is so light, you can usually just pull them off. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — The Kitchn

2

The Statue of Liberty's torch got closed because of a 1916 terrorist act. NEW YORK The aftermath of the explosion In that year, German spies caused a massive explosion nearby, which damaged the torch so badly it's been closed to the public ever since. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — History.com

1

Colonel Sanders wore only white suits for the last 20 years of his life. The KFC spokesperson's trademark white suit sold for $21,510 at an auction in 2013. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Eater and Today

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