20 Tantalizing Trivia Tidbits

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20 Tantalizing Trivia Tidbits

Did you know that there's a horse out there who could do math? No? Well, uh, it's not true in the strictest sense anyway. In 1891, Germany was astonished by a stallion named “Clever Hans”, who could deduce answers to simple arithmetic problems. But here's the kicker: it wasn't until later that it was discovered he was picking up on subtle cues from the asker's body language. But let's talk about temples, for a change of subject – if you think Vatican City is big, wait until you hear about Angkor Wat in Cambodia! This religious structure holds the title of being the largest in the world. It was built for Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation, between 1122 and 1150 AD in the reign of King Suryavarman II. On a different note, a woman got stuck to her chair at home one day in 2002; not because she couldn't get up but because her skin started attaching itself to fabric of said chair! The 550-lb 75-year old also suffered fractures when police tried removing her from attached state before finally passing away in hospital month later. 

The guy who designed the “Batman V Superman” costumes also designed the SpaceX suits.

The costume designer for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice designed the SpaceX space suits. CRACKED.COM Elon Musk commissioned Jose Fernandez, and said he wanted the suits to look badass and heroic. Fer- nandez didn't know what SpaceX was at the time, and thought it was for a film.

Forbes

Humans may have domesticated grains for beer before bread.

Beer, rather than bread, may have been the inspiration for our ancestors to domesticate grains. CRACKED.COM Demand for reliable sup- plies pushed humans first to plant the wild grasses and then over time to se- lectively breed them into the high-yielding barley, wheat, and other grains we know today.

NatGeo

A Titanic passenger managed to get a message-in-a-bottle to his mother before the ship sank.

A message in a bottle from a doomed Titanic passenger was found near his home. CRACKED.COM The mother of 19-year-old Jeremiah Burke recognized his handwriting, and an- nounced that the bottle was the same holy water bottle she had given to her boy on the day of his departure.

Irish Central

The first international war crime trial happened in the Holy Roman Empire.

The first international war crime trial took place in 1474. E Can and to Branbo Wegbalding Calming Café 25am ofteng Xam Desders Dabom Pfalm Bambers 40ml Koreme MITH the Ambidan: H Diet 24 Marbero Soborg Clean David We This Caber Dagman Braudendorf Bain Chipten . Delivery Standarg Almaloos Expire Knowgh Credition Gmubes mkg Spart Stramberg Baben Carring will CRACKED.COM Peter Von Hagenbauch of Alsace, Germany was found guilty of atrocities committed during the ос- cupation of Breisach and beheaded in the Holy Ro- man Empire.

ICC

The voice of Tigger was an inventor.

The voice of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh was an inventor that created many patents still in use today. GRAGKED.COM Paul Winchell was one of the original inventors of an artificial heart, an automo- bile that runs on battery power, a method for breeding tilapia, and many other inventions.

Paul Winchell

“Jolene” was written about a red-headed clerk that crushed on Dolly Parton’s husband.

Dolly Parton's Jolene is about a red-headed clerk who had a crush on her husband. CRACKED.COM The song's title is named after one of her fans. Dolly told her, That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.

NPR

Germany made America a submarine before they got involved in WWI.

During WWI, to get around British blockades, a German company built a merchant submarine to trade with then neutral America. LUSITANIA CRACKED.COM It made 2 trips before America entered the war after which it was converted to a war- ship and it went on to sink 42 ships on 3 ра- trols.

Uboat

Despite not having cows, a Hong Kong dairy farm makes thousands of bottles of milk a day.

A Hong Kong dairy farm makes 4,000 bottles of milk a day despite not having any cows. CRACKED.COM Hong Ning Dairy hasn't had a license to keep cattle since 2008, so instead the workers haul huge bags of formula to the processing plant to produce dairy beverages.

Coconuts Hong King

A deer was caught munching on human remains in the woods.

A deer was caught munching on human remains in the woods. GRACKED.COM Researchers from Texas State University left a hu- man corpse on a 26-acre woodland site to study how human bodies decom- pose in the wild, and end- ed up capturing the first image of this behavior.

IBI Times

The gin and tonic was at first a way to fight malaria.

Gin and tonic started off as an anti-malaria cocktail. CRACKED.COM British colonials in India used gin to cover the bitter taste of tonic water, which was initially marketed as a means of delivering qui- nine to consumers in order to offer anti-malarial pro- tection.

India.com

William McKinley was killed right after removing his good luck carnation.

President William McKinley wore a red carnation in his lapel at all times as a good luck charm. CRACKED.COM During a public meeting in his second term, he took out the flower from his la- pel and gave it to a 12-year-old girl. Minutes later, he was shot. Не died a week later.

Mental Floss

NYC used to have a mail network of tubes.

Until 1953, New York City had a pneumatic tube mail network. CRACKED COM It spanned 27 miles and connected 23 post offices. At its peak, the system moved 95,000 let- ters a day.

Untapped Cities

A Civil War veteran made a makeshift guillotine to kill himself in a hotel room.

A Civil War veteran killed himself with a homemade guillotine. GRACKED.COM Farmer, self-proclaimed inventor and Civil War veteran James Moon got a hotel room in Lafayette, carrying an ах and iron plates. Не was found be- headed the next day.

JC Online

Female hangingflies demand a food gift before a male can mate with her.

Female hangingflies demand a food gift before a male can mate with her. CRACKED.COM The bigger the gift, the longer it takes for her to eat it, and thus the longer she'll allow the male to mate with her.

Discover Life

Buzz Aldrin conducted a communion service on the Moon.

Buzz Aldrin snuck sacramental bread and wine onto the Moon. GRACKED.COM This was the first food consumed on the Moon. Aldrin kept it a secret due to lawsuits filed by Amer- ican Atheists over the Genesis reading on Christmas 1968.

Guideposts

Usain Bolt was given a 3-ton piece of the Berlin Wall.

Usain Bolt was awarded a piece of the Berlin Wall. CRACKED.COM When Bolt broke the 100 m world record at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, the mayor awarded him the 12 foot long, 6000-pound piece of the Wall. It is now housed at the Jamaica Mili- tary Museum.

ESPN

A morbidly obese woman couldn’t be removed from her home.

A 550 lb woman got stuck in a chair in her home when her skin began to attach to it. GRAGKED.COM The 75-year-old couldn't be moved because she was attached to the fabric of the chair, and when police tried to remove her, her bones started breaking. She died after a month in the hospital.

KTLA

The largest religious structure in the world is in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest religious structure in the world. CRACKED.COM It is at least 3.5 times bigger than the Vatican City. It was built for the Hindu god Vishnu by the Khmer King Suryavar- man II in the period 1113-50.

GWR

A horse answered math questions by looking at the body language of the asker.

A stallion nicknamed Clever Hans impressed Germany with his math skills in 1891. CRACKED.COM It was later discovered that he was deducing an- swers, including basic square roots, by reading the subtle, unintentional body language cues of the asker.

Gutenberg

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