15 Terrific Facts That Really Tanned Our Hides

15 Terrific Facts That Really Tanned Our Hides

Two men are sitting at opposite ends of the trench with rifles across their knees. The sun has just gone down and a cold rain is falling on top of them as they discuss how things are different between them. They talk of how things were when they first joined up. One of the men talks about what a good life it was back home before he signed up. He tells the other man how he used to be able to get drunk and have fun with his friends every day without fear. The man at the other end of the trench listens quietly as they go on about their past life, and eventually they start laughing together over a memory of something funny that happened back then. They laugh together so much they can no longer see each other through their tears.
The thing they're laughing about? It's a list of fifteen facts that goes like this:

Lincoln was the first to use the elephant as a Republican symbol.

The elephant as the Republican symbol first appeared in 1864. CRACKED.COM The pro-Lincoln newspa- per/propaganda arm 'Fa- ther Abraham' depicted an elephant celebrating Union victories in the war. See- ing the elephant meant to engage in combat.

MentalFloss

Police on horseback do not need to clean up the animal’s poop.

Mounted police officers in New York are not responsible for cleaning up their horse's poop. CRACKED.COM Even though anyone who drives a horse-drawn car- riage must prevent manure from being deposited on the street, the New York Sanita- tion Department cleans up after police horses.

NY Post

Hangovers can be helped with cactus extract.

Prickly pear extract can help with hangovers. GRACKED COM Rich with antioxidants, prickly pear's strong anti-in- flammatory action helps prevent nausea and dry mouth in people who take the extract a few hours be- fore they start drinking.

LA Times

The Wizard of Oz almost didn’t have its most iconic song.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow was almost cut from The Wizard of Oz. CRACKED.COM The film's producer thought the song dragged on for too long. It would eventually be declared the #1 song of the 20th centu- ry by The Recording Indus- try Association of America.

Columbia News

Exhibits at the Natural History museum inspired classic movie posters.

The posters for 'Jaws' and 'Jurassic Park' were modeled after exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History. CRACKED COM For the iconic 'Jaws' imag- ery of a swimmer about to be devoured, artist Roger Kastel went to the museum and took a few photos of stuffed sharks waiting to be cleaned.

NY Post

A broken laser pointer was Ebay’s first sale.

The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. CRACKED.COM EBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed the item on the site in 1995, which was purchased by Mark Fraser for $14.83. Mark still has the laser pointer in his possession.

eBayInc

Tiny hairs on the feet of geckos allow them to turn off their stickiness.

Geckos can turn the stickiness of their feet on and off at will. GRAGKED.COM A mechanism in the toes of geckos use tiny, branched hairs called seta that can instantly turn their sticki- ness on and off, and even unstick their feet with- out using any energy.

Phys.org

Tomorrowland shows the distant future of 1986.

When Disneyland opened, Tomorrowland represented the future year 1986. CRACKED.COM Today, Tomorrowland hasn't had a major overhaul in more than 20 years, and still bears the remnants of old, abandoned rides.

OC Register

John Wayne pissed off Stalin enough that he was almost assassinated.

Joseph Stalin ordered the KGB to assassinate John Wayne for Wayne's anti-communist rhetoric. CRACKED.COM Hearing about the plot, Wayne hatched a plan with his scriptwriter at the time, Jimmy Grant, to abduct the assassins, drive to a beach and stage a mock execution to frighten them.

The Guardian

A ‘hat trick’ originated when a club member was given a new hat for hitting three wickets.

The term 'hat trick' in sports comes from the time a cricket player was gifted a hat. .. CRACKED.COM In 1858, a cricket player in England took three wickets with consecutive balls (which we are told is good). As a reward, his club gave the bowler a new hat, hence the term hat trick.

NHL

The date on egg cartons is several weeks before they actually go bad.

Eggs are still good for about a month after the expiration date on their carton. CRACKED.COM Eggs in the shell will maintain freshness for three to five weeks, pro- vided that you keep them refrigerated at a tem- perature of about 40 de- grees Fahrenheit.

Egg Safety

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