20 Facts That Really Took Us To The Mat

Did you know that dogs and humans love each other in the same way? It's true! And not only do we feel deep unconditional love for our furry friends, but looking at them also releases oxytocin in our brains. Oxytocin is sometimes called the “love hormone” because it triggers feelings of protection and attachment. So next time your dog is giving you those big puppy eyes, rest assured that they really are full of love! And hey, speaking of love and devotion, did you know there's a cult dedicated to Gadget Hackwrench from Rescue Rangers? That's right, this intrepid female mouse has inspired an international group of devotees who pray to her posters, sing songs about her greatness, and stick stickers bearing her likeness all over the place. Did you also know that when women first started applying to be astronauts, NASA was worried about one very important detail: their periods. Yep, officials were concerned that feminine hygiene products wouldn't work properly in space and a woman could literally bleed to death while on a mission. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, and menstruating astronauts no longer pose problems for NASA.

20 The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire deliberately employed deaf servants

Deaf servants were favored companions of the Ottoman sultan. Their facility in non- verbal communication made them indispens- able to the court, where decorum re- stricted speech in the sultan's presence. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — JSTOR / Wikipedia

19 Ninjas didn’t wear masks.

Actual ninjas didn't wear black masks. The mask associated with ninjas is actually an amal- gamation of how a thief dressed in Japan. Ninjas also didn't use shuriken (throwing stars), these were used by Samurai swordsmen. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — The Malestrom / Wikipedia

18 Frank Biondo has been a camera operator on Sesame Street since the beginning.

The same man has been camera 1 operator on Sesame Street since the first episode. Frank Biondo worked with Jim Henson on projects before Sesa- me Street, and ар- peared as himself in a montage in Elmo's World: Cameras. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Television Academy / YouTube

17 Germany banned Tom Cruise from filming because of Scientology.

Germany wouldn't let Tom Cruise film a movie at their military sites because he is a member of Scientology. Scientology is viewed as a dangerous cult by the German authorities, and thus production of the 2008 film Valkyrie could not include German military sites. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Reuters / Unsplash

16 People would drunk dial Hanna-Barbera studios to ask about the Flintstones.

Barney Rubble's job on The Flintstones was introduced to get people to stop asking about it. A security guard at the Hanna-Barbera studios was so tired of calls ask- ing what Barney did for a living that he would sim- ply answer Не worked in the quarry. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — FactFiend / Wikipedia

15 Mel Brooks was not taking any crap from studio executives.

Producer Mel Brooks had choice words for studio executives that tried to tell him what to cut from The Elephant Man. After a screening of the film, Brooks told them: We screened the film to bring you up to date as to the status of that venture. Do not misconstrue this as our soliciting the input of raging primitives. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — TCM / Wikipedia

14 The rarest breed of dog was developed to hunt puffins.

The Norwegian Lundehund is one of the world's rarest and oldest dog breeds. It has six toes, extremely flexible joints and the breed was originally devel- oped for the hunting of puffins and their eggs on inaccessible nesting places in caves and on cliffs. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — NatGeo / Pexels

13 Warner Bros rebooted Superman specifically without regard to a Batman and Superman movie.

Warner Bros. canceled a planned Superman vs. Batman film after Superman Returns bombed. The reboot, which be- came Man Of Steel, was developed specifically to reintroduce Super- man without regard to a Batman and Super- man movie at all. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Gizmodo / Wikipedia

12 There is a lot of water on the planet older than the sun.

Up to half of Earth's water is older than the Sun. Much of the water on our planet and around the so- lar system started out as tiny grains of ice floating in interstellar space. Most of it made its way to Earth's on ice-rich comets billions of years ago. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — NY Times / Wikipedia

11 Aerosmith’s guitarist sold his guitar and it wound up in Slash’s hands.

Joe Perry sold his 1959 Les Paul during his divorce and lost track of it until he saw it in a magazine. Slash, from Guns 'N Ros- es, was holding his prized guitar. For years Slash re- fused to sell it back until he finally gave it to Perry as a gift on his 50th birthday. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Guitar Player / Wikipedia

10 A German man went kayaking in 1932 and didn’t realize a world war had started.

A German civilian kayaked for so long that he didn't realize World War 2 began. Oskar Speck left Germany in 1932 via kayak to seek work, but decided to see the world instead. When he arrived in Australia in 1939, he was detained as an enemy foreigner. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Expedition Kayak / Wikipedia

9 There's A Scientific Reason Why We Always Have Room For Dessert.

Your body makes your stomach ready for dessert after a meal. Your gut expands upon contact with sugar and therefore makes room for dessert even after having the feeling of being full. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Huffington Post / Wikipedia

8 A flute made from the femur of a bear was made 43,000 years ago.

The oldest known musical instrument is a 43,000-year-old flute that was carved from a bear femur. This is older than the extinction of Neander- thals, domestication of animals, the extinction of Ice Age mammals, and the invention of the wheel. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Cambridge / Wikipedia

7 Nuclear Semiotics is meant to convey messages after all current human languages have disappeared.

There is an interdisciplinary field of research to warn humans about nuclear waste 10,000 years from now. 0.66 KW 0.66 км Nuclear Semiotics uses pic- tographs to convey danger, meant to be used far off into the future when all known language disappears but the nuclear waste is still very much a problem. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — The Atlantic / Unsplash

6 There are no wild horses, only feral horses.

There probably aren't any true wild horses left on Earth. Wild horses are actually feral horses descended from domesticated horses. Feral mustangs in the US are the descendants from horses introduced by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — NatGeo / Wikipedia

5 George Michael doesn’t understand the success of “Careless Whisper.”

George Michael wrote Careless Whisper at 17 out of sheer boredom while riding the bus. careless whisper Despite its success, he was not happy with the song and in a 2009 interview with the Big Issue, he said he was a bit puzzled why it made such an impression on people. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Independent / Wikipedia

4 DJ Khaled’s baby son was the executive producer of one of his albums.

DJ Khaled's infant son was legally declared the executive producer of his album, Grateful. Khaled used his son Asahd Tuck Khaled's reactions to the sounds to gauge the quality of songs for the al- bum. The best quality was determined when the baby spit up. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Billboard / Pexels

3 NASA was worried that a woman astronaut’s period would affect her performance.

NASA was hesitant to send women into space because of their periods. SALLY They weren't sure how their periods would af- fect their perfor- mance, and it was theorized that a wom- an could bleed to death in microgravity. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — PopSci / YouTube

2 A cult worships Gadget from Rescue Rangers.

There is a Russian cult that worships Gadget Hackwrench from Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers. They pray to posters of her, gather to talk about how incredibly great she is, compose songs about her, and spread stickers of her wherever they go. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Oddity Central / Wikipedia

1 A dog will feel the same love for its owner that a child feels for its parent.

Looking at your pets and your own children releases the same chemical in the brain. Oxytocin triggers feelings of unconditional love and pro- tection, and is released when parents and children look into each other's eyes. This is also seen in canine brains, meaning they feel love for us, too. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Telegraph / Unsplash

28 Things You Completely Misunderstood As A Child

35 of the Funniest Tweets from December 5, 2023

28 Trivia Tidbits About Money

12 Collectible Bits of Trivia Fresh From the Bottom of the Cereal Box

28 Movie and TV Quotes So Stupid They’re Brilliant