20 Trivia Nuggets Panned From The River Of Knowledge

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20 Trivia Nuggets Panned From The River Of Knowledge

There is a certain pleasure in learning that one is not alone in being intrigued by certain things. I enjoy hearing from others who are intrigued by the same oddities that have fascinated me, and I hope that my readers will share my joy in such things as the fact that the word “stupendous” is used as an adjective, or that the term “lunatic” is related to the moon. I enjoy this list of interesting facts, but I am always looking for more. I would be glad to hear of other interesting facts in the comments section, and I welcome your additions to the list. It has been my experience that these facts are more enjoyable when shared with others, so please feel free to link this page to anyone you think might find it entertaining. Stupendous facts are great for parties, family gatherings, office holiday parties, and coffee dates. If you need some help in how to use them in conversation, simply ask your friends and family to tell you their favorite stupendous fact, then share yours in response.

British Parliament disowned ‘U-571.’

The movie 'U-571' ended up being condemned in the British Parliament. The historical inaccuracies caused many controver- sies, including the fact that the Americans did not cap- ture the Enigma machine. The code had been broken years before they entered the war. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

BBC

‘Dirty Dancing’ produced 2 multi-platinum albums.

'Dirty Dancing' (1987) was the first film to sell over 1 million copies for home video. It also produced 2 multi-platinum music al- bums and is responsible for boosting attendance in dance classes across America. As of 2005, the film was still selling a mil- lion DVDs per year. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Jezebel

A mental patient drew his imaginary life story in 25,000 pages.

A mental patient named Adolf Wölfli took up drawing a 25,000 page book to calm himself. His work included a monu- mental and epic illustrated book of 45 volumes, 25,000 pages, 1,600 illus- trations, and 1,500 collag- es in which he narrated his own imaginary life story. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Artnet

Mussolini’s son was a touring jazz musician.

Benito Mussolini's son was a respected Jazz musician. Romano Mussolini toured internationally with artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Helen Mer- rill and Chet Baker. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

The Atlantic

‘Fatigue Zones’ on Australia roads feature trivia games.

Some roads in Australia feature trivia games. The games help to coun- teract the risk of fatigue in these 'Fatigue Zones' to keep drivers alert and reduce crashes and fatali- ties on the long, feature- less roads. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Twisted Sifter

The Colombian Armed Forces commissioned a pop song with Morse Code.

The Armed Forces of Colombia commissioned a pop song that secretly included a Morse code. The message was in- tended to be heard by their kidnapped mili- tary personnel, which said, 19 people res- cued, you're next. Don't lose hope. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Coloribus

Mozart was a certified freak.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a party anthem for his friends about licking his butt. Mozart wrote the 6-Part Canon, Leck mich im Arsch, which loosely translates to Lick me in the Arse. Не also used to keep a journal detailing his farts. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Cambridge

Mysterious fireballs erupt from a river in Thailand every year.

Every year, hundreds of fireballs erupt from the surface of the Mekong River in Thailand. Nobody knows what causes them. Locals believe a mythical ser- pent called Naga spits fire from the water. The event is known as 'Naga Fireballs.' CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

MNN

Clubs were formed in the late 19th century to do the most “unlucky” things imaginable.

In the late 19th Century US it was fashionable for peoplè to form 13 Clubs. 3 They would demonstrate their lack of superstition by dining in groups of 13, walking under ladders, spilling salt at the table, etc. Several future US Pres- idents participated. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Atlas Obscura

Potato sprouts can be dangerous.

Potato sprout,s can be dangerous. Sprouts that come out of old potatoes are poisonous and can cause an array of symptoms ranging from vomiting to ра- ralysis. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Medline Plus

Baboons use plums as birth control.

Some baboons make birth control, with plums. Female baboons in the Nigerian rainforest make seasonal use of the Afri- can black plum to in- crease progesterone lev- els, which halts their re- productive cycles. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

GOST

James Caan hung around a mobster so much he tricked the Government.

Government agents mistook James Caan as an aspiring mobster during the production of The Godfather. During production, James Caan used to hang out with Carmine Persico, a.k.a. The Snake, who was a notorious Mafioso and later head of the Co- lombo crime family. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

NY Times

An American trading ship was massacred off Sumatra in 1831.

An American pepper trading ship was attacked off the Island of Sumatra in 1831. The village locals killed 3 and plundered the ship (named 'Friendship'). In re- taliation, Andrew Jackson sent a warship all the way back to Sumatra to destroy the village the attackers were from. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Sabrizain

An American soldier was captured in WWII and started fighting for the Soviets.

There was one man that served in both the US and Soviet armies during World War 2. Joseph Beyrle took part in the D-Day landings, was cap- tured, escaped, and joined a Soviet tank battalion soon after. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

NPR

The term “Taco Tuesday” is trademarked.

Taco John's owns the term Taco Tuesday. They have issued hun- dreds of cease and desist letters demanding com- panies stop holding Taco Tuesdays, which we feel goes against the spirit of the event. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Chowhound

The amount of gold we’ve mined in all of history can fit into three pools.

The world pours more steel every hour than gold since the beginning of recorded history. 6666 SZO and SOCCA JOSE SW Gold is so rare that every ounce that has ever been mined can fit into three Olympic swimming pools. However, there is enough gold in Earth's core to coat its entire surface to a depth of 1.5 feet. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

NSS

A runway was bulldozed in the middle of the night.

The mayor of Chicago bulldozed the runway of a downtown airport in the middle of the night in 2003. Richard Daley illegally made the space to create a park. This stranded 16 planes on the ground and required an inbound flight to be divert- ed. The FAA fined the city $33,000, the maximum al- lowed at that time. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Aviation Pros

A man murdered his wife saying she was a changeling.

An Irish woman was accused of being a changeling and murdered by her husband. Bridget Cleary was mur- dered by her husband in 1895 after he stated that she had been abducted by fairies with a changeling left in her place. Не claimed to have slain only the changeling. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

MentalFloss

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