29 Trivia Nuggets About Pop Culture, Architecture and More
![29 Trivia Nuggets About Pop Culture, Architecture and More](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/5/9/814459_320x180.jpg)
The world is a fascinating place that's filled with wild facts, strange tidbits, odd knowledge and simply tons of things to learn. From pop culture, to architecture, to history, science and psychology--well really the list is almost endless.
We wanted to dredge up some trivia and factoids from the depths of the internet that made us pause and say “holy macaroni!” and boy, did we ever.
For example, it turns out the Statue of Liberty's iconic green look isn't actually its true form. The statue was originally bronze but turned green after years of oxizidation.
Did you know there are exactly as many cicada songs as there are species of cicada in existence? Each species has a unique song that's sung by the males as a mating call. Talk about collective crooning…
Want to learn more? Scroll on down! Here's more about that and 28 other interesting facts about pop culture, history, science, and more:
![There are exactly as many cicada songs as there are cicada species in existence. Each species of cicada has its own song, and they're all really mating calls - - they're sung by masses of cicada males trying to attract females. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/8/814488.jpg)
![We didn't always have the same North Star. Due to a slight wobble of the Earth's axis, the North Star changes. When humans were building the Pyramids, the star Thuban was used for Northern guidance. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/6/814486.jpg)
![Laika was the first animal to be launched in the Earth's orbit Laika the dog was part of the Soviet space program. She died from stress only a few hours after the launch. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/7/814487.jpg)
![Ye wasn't really used to mean the in Old English Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese The 'th' sound used to be written with a 'p.' Early printers didn't have a 'p' so they used 'y' because it looked similar. Ye was revived in the 19th century to make things sound quaintly old timey. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/4/814484.jpg)
![Lions bang like crazy. They breed during a window of several days every two years, and they get it on every 20-30 minutes -- they can get up to 50 rounds in 24 hours. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/5/814485.jpg)
![Peach Black is a deep blue-black pigment that saved lives During WWI, Peach Black was used in gas masks to fight against chlorine gas NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/0/814490.jpg)
![In 1999, the United States' 22nd most successful money manager was a chimp. She picked stocks by throwing darts at a list of 133 companies, which gave her a 213% return. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/9/814489.jpg)
![Al Pacino nearly got fired from The Godfather. In the first couple of weeks, his performance totally baffled the filmmakers (except for Coppola, who supported him) and they wanted to replace him. They only changed their mind once they saw him in the restaurant scene -- if that scene hadn't worked, not even Coppola's support would have kept him in the movie. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/2/814482.jpg)
![Michelangelo hid underground for three months While avoiding the wrath of the Pope, the artist doodled on the walls of a room underneath the Medici Chapel. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/3/814483.jpg)
![Judy Sheindlin just set her own salary for Judge Judy. Every three years, she'd discuss her contract over dinner with the president of CBS Television Distribution - which meant she'd write down the number she wanted, put it in an envelope, and give it to him after dinner. The one time he tried to hand her an envelope, she didn't even open it, and told him This isn't a negotiation. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/0/814480.jpg)
![They didn't use any special effects in the Wizard of Oz color transition scene. When the movie turns from sepia to color, they shot Judy Garland's stunt double in a sepia dress, with sepia makeup on, on a sepia set. When she steps out of the shot, she's replaced by Judy Garland in a blue dress. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/8/1/814481.jpg)
![Lobsters don't age like other creatures. BRONNING They don't lose their fertility or strength, and their metabolism doesn't slow. And they keep getting bigger. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/9/814479.jpg)
![61% of Americans dread the holidays, because of the cost. And 75% of parents worry about disappointing their kids. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/8/814478.jpg)
![In 2012 Unabomber Ted Kaczynski got invited to his 50-year Harvard reunion. 5 5 I Не RSVPed, listing his occupation as prisoner and his 8 life sentences as awards. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/7/814477.jpg)
![In France during 1986, Nadine Vaujour took helicopter flying lessons for six months. She then rented a helicopter. JBG Vaujour flew it to the prison where her husband was being held, dropped a rope down to the roof, and spirited him away. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/6/814476.jpg)
![In 1985, a man rigged his computer to call Jerry Falwell's toll-free prayer line every 30 seconds for eight months. It clogged the line and cost it over $750k in reverse charges. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/5/814475.jpg)
![A blind woman flying United Airlines was assured by the flight crew they would help her exit the plane. Instead, they forgot her, left, and locked up the plane. Luckily, she was found by a maintenance crew a short time later. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/3/814473.jpg)
![In 1971, Sylvester Stallone sold his dog, Butkus, for $40 to buy food. After selling the script for Rocky, he bought him back for $15,000. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/4/814474.jpg)
![Butter used to be associated with witches in Ireland back in the day. BUTTER 1 FIRST QUALITY 1 NET WT. 4OZ. (113g) BUTTER Butter was used in Celtic pagan rituals, 1/2 CUP START MEASURE HERE 1/4 CUP-> 1/3 CUP->/ and also, a witch could steal a neighbor's لم ESPOON MEASURE: 1 8 6 5 4 3 butter luck using magic. ABELED FOR RETAIL SALE CRACKED.COM NOW YOU KNOW](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/2/814472.jpg)
![Only high-ranking Egyptians actually kept their hearts after their death. Hearts were removed from many mummies, and the heart was seen as the seat of consciousness - presumably, this kept commoners out of the afterlife. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/8/814468.jpg)
![In the 1880s, people in the Old West made a whole DIY telephone system. They took the barbed wire used throughout the countryside, and turned it into telephone lines (barbed wire carried a telephone signal with no problems). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/7/814467.jpg)
![Medieval knights had a special dagger they used just for finishing off an enemy. It was called the misericorde (which came from the French word for mercy): a long, thin dagger you could kill a wounded enemy knight with. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/1/814461.jpg)
![Turns out, we probably owe the popularity of guacamole to a pirate. William Dampier, who became a pirate in 1679, wrote down the first ever guac recipe (and we also got the words tortilla and soy sauce from him). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/5/814465.jpg)
![Pterodactyls aren't dinosaurs - and they're not birds or mammals, either. The fact that they can fly, and that their limbs stretch to the side, disqualifies them from being dinosaurs and makes them dino cousins. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/2/814462.jpg)
![The Statue of Liberty only turned green 20 years after it was put up. LIBERTY 1990 It happened in 1906 - when it was first put up, in 1886, it was roughly the same shade of brown as a penny. The copper just oxidized over 20 years. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/3/814463.jpg)
![Shaq owns 155 Five Guys Burgers and 17 Auntie Annie's Pretzels. FIVE GUYS RE SHAME TE FIVE GUYS E BUT L BET CARD - NOT ENTER That's more than 10% of the Five Guys in the United States. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/0/814470.jpg)
![One of the biggest occupational hazards for astronauts is losing your eyesight. Astronauts sometimes develop vision problems, and experts now consider that the #1 risk of going into space. Nobody knows why it happens. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/6/814466.jpg)
![Rihanna threw Katy Perry a bachelorette party. When Perry married Russell Brand, Rihanna was unable to attend due to scheduling issues, but still performed the maid of honor duty of bachelorette party planner. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/7/1/814471.jpg)
![The Russian Railway is long enough to wrap around the world twice. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest train journey in the world, with a length of over 5,772 miles. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/6/9/814469.jpg)