15 Facts That Really Sharpened Our Cutlasses

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15 Facts That Really Sharpened Our Cutlasses

Who knew that behind some of the world's most impressive athletes and rock stars were stories of humble beginnings? Czech Olympic gymnast Věra Čáslavská is one such story. After her training facility was destroyed during the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, Čáslavská took to training in the woods using potato sacks as weights and logs as beams. This didn't stop her from going on to medal in all six events at the 1968 Olympics, four of them Gold. Or how about Jon Bon Jovi? Before he was a household name, young Jon (17 at the time) sang backup vocals on 1980's tie-in album “Christmas In The Stars” because his cousin Tony managed the studio where the album was recorded and had hired him as a janitor. And lastly, who could forget about those electric worm getters from the ‘80s and ’90s? Though it may send shivers down your spine now, this device used to be quite popular among fishermen for shocking worms out of hiding so they could more easily be caught… until 1993 when it was recalled after 30 people died using it. 

Wanted fugitives accepted free football tickets and were arrested.

US Marshals caught over 100 fugitives by sending them football tickets. RIGAN 11 и NFL 5 52 REDSKINS CRACKED.COM Operation Flagship was a sting operation that sent out free Redskins tickets to wanted fugitives. It re- sulted in more than 100 ar- rests with Marshalls wear- ing Redskins and Chicken costumes.

NFL

Michael Jackson had a scary fan that inspired “Billie Jean.”

Michael Jackson wrote Billie Jean after a fan that terrified him. Billa GRAGKED.COM The real-life fan sent him a letter with a weapon and instructions to kill himself. Не kept her photograph to memorize her face, in case she ever turns up someplace.

Rolling Stone

Californians can enact Wild West justice if they want.

Californian citizens are legally allowed to form a posse to arrest someone who committed a felony. GRACKED COM California Penal Codes 837, 839, and 844 allows citi- zens to kick in the front door of someone's house to arrest them, whether or not a police officer is pres- ent for the arrest.

LA Times

‘Soft serve’ is not short for “soft serve ice cream.”

The frozen treat that Dairy Queen serves is not technically ice cream. GRAGKED.COM To be categorized as ice cream, the minimum but- terfat content must be 10% and their product only has only 5 percent butterfat. Therefore, it is called soft-serve.

Eat This

The Great Pyramids were built with the power of beer.

The people that built the Great Pyramids of Giza got a daily ration of beer. GRACKED.COM During the building of the Great Pyramids, each worker got a daily ration of 4-5 liters of beer, which served as both nutrition and refreshment that was crucial to the pyramids' construction.

Smithsonian

It took 4 years for a trainer to train the 35 wolves used in “Wolf Totem.”

35 Mongolian wolves were trained in China for over 4 years for the 2015 film Wolf Totem. CRACKED.COM A Scottish trainer trained them to sit, snarl, and fight on cue. After filming, the wolves were ultimately re- located to Canada, since they only understood com- mands in English.

Wall Street Journal

People in the Middle East use foam rubber in their camel saddles because of “Lawrence of Arabia.”

Peter O'Toole influenced how people in the Middle East saddled their camels. CRACKED.COM During filming Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole added foam rubber to his camel saddle to increase comfort. This eventually spread, and O'Toole was called the Father of Rubber.

NPR

Jurassic Park made as much as the combined sales of 1.5 million Hyundai cars in South Korea.

'Jurassic Park' inspired South Korea to subsidize its entertainment industry. CRACKED COM The South Korean govern- ment subsidized its enter- tainment industry by 1%+ of its GDP after realizing one Jurassic Park film made as much as the com- bined sales of 1.5 million Hyundai cars.

Financial Post

Oktoberfest was a wedding reception that turned into an annual event.

Oktoberfest started off as a wedding reception for a Prince in Bavaria in 1810. ALFE PAULANER CRACKED COM Prince Ludwig of Ba- varia and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hild- burghausen enjoyed it so much, they sug- gested making it an annual event.

Kegerator

Harper Lee wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird” when a friend gave her a year’s wages.

Harper Lee once received one year's wages as a gift from a friend CRACKED.COM A struggling Lee received the gift with the note: You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christ- mas. She used her time off to write To Kill a Mock- ingbird.

The Guardian

A plate added to 1980’s Eldorados to help the car’s balance saved a mobster’s life.

A mobster was saved by a metal plate in his Cadillac Eldorado that was there to fix a balancing problem. 8183 RA 06 CRACKED.COM The plate, under the driv- er's seat, saved mob as- sociate Frank Rosenthal's life when it shielded him from the force of a car bomb exploding under his car.

The Mob Museum

Jon Bon Jovi’s first time in a recording studio was for a Star Wars Christmas album.

Jon Bon Jovi's first professional recording was backup vocals on a Star Wars Christmas album. CRACKED.COM The 17-year-old Jon was on 1980's tie-in album Christ- mas In The Stars because his cousin Tony managed the studio where the al- bum was recorded and had hired him as a janitor.

The Force

30 people died using the Electric Worm Getter.

There was a product sold to fishermen in the '80s and '90s called the Electric Worm Getter. CRACKED COM It sent an electric shock through the top layer of soil forcing the worms to surface. It had to be recalled in 1993 after 30 people died using it.

CPSC

The destruction of her training facility led a Czech gymnast to train in the woods.

Czech gymnast Vēra Čáslavská trained for the 1968 Olympics in the woods. CRACKED.COM After losing her training fa- cility due to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, she trained in the forest us- ing potato sacks as weights and logs as beams. She medaled in all six events, four of them Gold.

Olympics

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