20 Trivia Tidbits That Stuck With Us

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20 Trivia Tidbits That Stuck With Us

“Aye, ‘tis I,” the voice boomed in the dark room. “I’ve been watching ye from yer window for the past hour and a half.”

I jumped in fright. My heart hammered as if someone had hit me with an iron bar.

My mouth was so dry it hurt, and I had to swallow before I could reply. “Oh, er … hi,” I managed at last. I couldn't help but notice he sounded more like a Scottish Highlander than any ghost that haunted this place.

“Ya need not worry,” his deep voice rumbled again. “The lass's no seen ye.” He paused a moment before continuing, sounding even more like a Scottish lord. “But ye should know her name.”

“I… I… should?” I gulped, barely able to form the words in my head.

“Ye should,” the disembodied voice boomed yet again, freezing the very marrow in my bones.

“But first,” intoned the voice, “listen to this list of odd facts … ”

A fuzzy core lies in the center of Saturn.

Saturn has a fuzzy, sludge-like core. CRACKED.COM The hydrogen and he- lium gas in the planet gradually mix with more and more ice and rock as you move to- ward the planet's cen- ter.

Nature

Bedbugs were alive during the time of the dinosaurs.

Bedbugs evolved 100 million years ago. CRACKED.COM People previously believed bats were bedbugs' first hosts, but they actually evolved 50 million years before bats. Bed- bugs feed on animals that make a home, like a birds' nest, so it's unlikely they fed off dinosaur blood.

Phys.org

A flushing toilet created ‘Star Trek’s’ distinctive whooshing doors.

The sound of the doors opening on the starship Enterprise is a toilet flushing. CRACKED.COM Michael Coleman of the SoundWorks Collection explains, You don't just go to a library and pull up an Enterprise door sound. Someone has to create it.

Wired

No rest is as good as hammock rest.

You fall asleep faster, and sleep deeper, in a hammock compared to a regular bed. CRACKED.COM The rocking motion from a hammock leads to longer periods of N2 sleep, a form of non-REM sleep that takes up about half of a good night's rest.

NPR

Turn on your pet lizard's UV light to turn on your partner.

If you want things with your partner to get R-rated, reach for the ultraviolet В light. CRACKED.COM UVB light, like that found in sunlight, boosts romantic passion in both genders. UI- traviolet radiation from sun- light increases testosterone levels in males, and sunlight plays a major role in the reg- ulation of sexuality.

Cell

Mark Antony had sands delivered from Egypt to please Cleopatra.

Cleopatra had sand brought in from Egypt to Turkey for her vacation. CRACKED.COM Unsatisfied with the beaches on Sedir Island in Turkey, Mark Antony had the white sands she pre- ferred brought over. Sedir is now known as Cleopat- ra's Island for this reason.

CNBC

One person can change the size of their pupils at will.

Only one person has been known to be able to control the size of their pupil. CRACKED.COM Не could constrict and dilate his own pupils, without the need for outside stimuli like light levels, even im- proving his visual acui- ty.

Science Direct

Crocs gallop like horses.

Crocodiles can gallop at 11 miles per hour. CRACKED.COM crocodiles have the full range of quadru- pedal footfall patterns used by mammals, meaning that they have the ability to gal- lop like a horse.

Nature

Seven keyholders control the internet.

7 people hold the keys to the internet. CRACKED.COM These seven digital keys, held by handpicked securi- ty experts, create a master key, which in turn controls one of the central security measures at the core of the web.

The Guardian

Newborns can’t cry - at least not with tears.

Newborns can't cry until they are one to three months old. CRACKED.COM Ok, they can (and will) scream bloody murder, but they can't produce tears until their tear ducts fully develop, which takes a few weeks after birth.

Parenting

Once a man gets a ring, he stops doing chores.

Men do less household chores after marriage. CRACKED.COM A survey of 17,000 peo- ple across 28 countries found that after mar- riage, the amount of time a man spends doing chores on a weekly basis decreases significantly.

Newsweek

Bigger forks lead to less eating.

Using a bigger fork may lead you to eat less. CRACKED.COM Smaller forkfuls of food lead diners to feel they are not making much of a dent in consuming their food, and, hence, satisfy- ing their hunger, accord- ing to researchers at the University of Utah.

Time

Bananas are like the pandas of the fruit world.

The bananas we eat today can only reproduce with our intervention. CRACKED.COM The fruit we enjoy, known as Cavendish, is actually a hybrid of two species. Since it has no seeds, farm- ers must remove and transplant part of the plant's stem to keep them reproducing.

SCMP

A third of all fish in stores are mislabeled.

One-third of all fish sold in restaurants and grocery stores is mislabeled. CRACKED.COM This is often to deliberate- ly mislead consumers and get them to buy more ex- pensive fish. Snapper was found to be mislabeled 87 percent of the time, tuna was mislabeled 59 percent.

NPR

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