13 Odd Facts To Let Us Easily Fill Awkward Silences
![13 Odd Facts To Let Us Easily Fill Awkward Silences](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/1/829761_320x180.jpg)
One reason we avoid casual conversation at all costs is the numerous traps that litter it. From gaffes to double engenders to backhanded compliments…the whole activity is a veritable minefield that we'd much prefer to avoid.
When we do venture into the dreaded realm of everyday conversation, we make sure we are armed to the teeth with fun facts--especially prepared in case we run into the dreaded 'awkward gap .'That dreadful, yawning silence can only be defeated by just the right combination of wit, wisdom, and, you guessed it: completely random factoids.
It's kind of awkward to fill the inevitable silences that appear in just about any conversation, but sometimes you can just say, "Did you know that ...” and mention a cool fact, like any one of these 13 facts below.
If that doesn't work, you can always simply flee the scene without explanation.
So what are you waiting for? Scroll down and find out what we have in store for ya…
![Thanks to John Wick, a cocaine smuggling operation in Italy was foiled. 130 grams of cocaine were sent from Colombia to Italy, and the whole thing was busted when a customs official saw a sender's name and realized it was the name of a John Wick mafia boss. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/4/829774.jpg)
![In 1902, there was something called The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre. TECAS SEA - - - 104.90 FOOD It happened because the French regime wanted to get rid of the rats in the sewers, so they put a bounty on each rat tail - but this just made people breed rats for the tails. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/3/829773.jpg)
![In 1997, David Bowie sold his own official Bowie bonds. And they were just like any other bond, more or less - people who bought them got a share of Bowie's royalties for the next 10 years. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/0/829770.jpg)
![At the height of WWII, Joseph Goebbels asked Germans to send winter clothes. The German army desperately needed them for the Russian winter, and the German citizens obeyed - and 76,232,688 items in total were gathered for the troops. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/1/829771.jpg)
![Before the US bombed on Japan in WWII, they had to get the UK's consent. 431 This was required because of a treaty on nuclear research that was agreed to in secret by the two countries. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/9/829769.jpg)
![One Japanese astronomer drew sunspots every single day for 40 years. And it turned out the detailed drawings have been very helpful in the study of solar cycles and magnetic fields. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/2/829772.jpg)
![When the Hundred Years' War started, the blind King of Bohemia wanted to fight. So he got his men to tie their own horses to his horse, and to lead him into battle. Не refused to retreat, and died in battle. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/8/829768.jpg)
![Turns out, MLK Junior was actually a big fan of Star Trek. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, says that, when she told him, Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you, he told her, You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/4/829764.jpg)
![In 2011, P&G and Unilever fixed prices and were fined $456 million. P AND G WHITE LAUNDRY SOAP PROCTER&GAMBLE MADE IN U S.A S.P.T.OFF REG They did this in 8 European countries, and they got a 10% discount after they copped to what they were doing. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/2/829762.jpg)
![Ethiopia has a calendar that's totally unique in the world. It's several years behind everyone else's, and the current year in Ethiopia actually isn't 2022, it's 2014. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/5/829765.jpg)
![In 1604, King James I wrote a scathing screed against smoking. Не called it a custome lothesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black and stinking fume thereof ... . CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/6/829766.jpg)
![Michael Bay has only one movie that's certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It's 1996's The Rock, which has a rating of 66%. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/3/829763.jpg)
![The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis controls ants in a weird way. It basically turns them into zombies, but not by eating their brain - instead, it directly controls their muscles, while keeping the brain intact. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/7/829767.jpg)