20 Believe-It-Or-Not Facts That Really Picked Our Pumpkins
![20 Believe-It-Or-Not Facts That Really Picked Our Pumpkins](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/2/877492_320x180.jpg)
Did you know that Reebok once had to recall a line of shoes because they were named after a mythological rapist? In 1997, the company released a line of athletic shoes for women called ‘Incubus.’ But after news stories broke out about the fact that Reebok had named women's shoes after a demon who preys on sleeping women, they had to recall 180,000 pairs. And, switching to biology for a moment, did you also know that opossums don't actually ‘play dead’? It may look like they're faking it when they pass out in fear, but it's actually an involuntary act. Under intense fear or stress, opossums fall into a comatose-like state that can last for hours and is accompanied by the emission of corpse-like smell. Finally, did you know that the ancient Greeks used to believe that the uterus wandered around inside a woman's body? They thought that as the uterus moved around in search of a means of conception, and this would cause ‘hysteria’ in women (that's where the word comes from, in fact).
Erin Esurance made insurance coverage too dang hot.
![Esurance had to drop their mascot because too much porn was made of her. CRACKED.COM The insurance compa- ny had to stop using their cartoon mascot Erin Esurance because when searching Esur- ance online, porn would come up first.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/4/877514.jpg)
The ‘92 US Olympics basketball team was the most dominant squad in any sport.
![The Dream Team has been called the most dominant squad ever assembled in any sport. USA USA - 75 USA O 6 RASMETIBALL . ISA BAY USA USA USA 21 GRAGKED.COM The 1992 Olympics US bas- ketball team won all of their games by an average of 44 points. The team in- cluded Patrick Ewing, Mi- chael Jordan, Charles Bar- kley, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/3/877513.jpg)
A “Devil’s Advocate” was a real position.
![Devil's advocate was a real job within the catholic church. GRACKED COM The devil's advocate was called upon to deliberate on behalf of the devil for any claims of sainthood and would argue for why someone should not be made a Saint of the catho- lic church.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/2/877512.jpg)
Stallone wouldn’t take a payout to not star in “Rocky.”
![Sylvester Stallone was not the actor that the producers wanted to star in 'Rocky'. CRACKED.COM With just $106 in his bank account, Stallone turned down a $300,000 offer - the equivalent of $1 million today-for the rights to 'Rocky' so that he could star in the film himself.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/1/877511.jpg)
Bowie had a fur-covered f*ck bed in his living room.
![David Bowie had a four-foot-deep, fur-covered bed nicknamed the pit in his living room. CRACKED.COM The bed was used for, you guessed it, orgies. Angie and David used to have the most amazing orgies at Oakley St. Everybody fucked everybody in the pit, says Wendy Leigh in her Bowie biography.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/0/877510.jpg)
A type of contact lens reshapes the cornea while you sleep.
![There is a type of contact lens retainer that reshapes the cornea at night. CRACKED.COM Orthokeratology is the use of gas-permeable contact lenses that temporarily re- shape the cornea to allow the user to have perfect vi- sion during the day with- out having to wear glasses/contact lenses.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/9/877509.jpg)
Tea may have been an accident.
![Tea may have been discovered by accident when tea leaves blew into a pot of boiling water. CRACKED.COM The Emperor Shen Nong, in 2737 ВСЕ, en- joyed drinking the in- fused water so much that he was compelled to research the plant further.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/8/877508.jpg)
A stunt performer was the first woman to hold a pilot’s license in the US.
![The first woman in the US to hold a pilot's license was of African and Native American descent. GRAGKED.COM In 1920, Bessie Coleman found a financial sponsor through a newspaper, trav- eled to France, and learned how to become a stunt pi- lot. She returned to the US as Queen Bess.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/7/877507.jpg)
Lennon put his cigarette out on a Matisse at the Playboy Mansion.
![John Lennon almost got beaten up at the Playboy mansion after he put his cigarette out on a Matisse painting. CRACKED.COM Lennon was in Los An- geles in 1974 during an infamous period in his life when he was drink- ing heavily due to a pro- longed split from his wife, Yoko Ono.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/6/877506.jpg)
WWI planes had a special gear so the gun didn’t fire into the propeller.
![Planes in WWI used a Synchronization Gear to prevent the mounted machine gun from blasting the propeller. GRACKED.COM An irregular-shaped disk triggers the gun to fire once per revolution, at a specific point. This produc- es a high rate of fire with- out the risk of hitting the propeller.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/5/877505.jpg)
Japan has trains just for women so they won’t get groped.
![There are signs on trains in Japan that tell male passengers to not grope women. 11T 5316 GRACKED.COM Groping is so common in Japan, train compa- nies designate wom- en-only cars where women can feel safe knowing they won't be groped.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/4/877504.jpg)
Real hair was used in the crosshairs of military aircraft bombsights.
![In 1944, Mary Babnik Brown had her hair used in crosshairs for military aircraft bombsights. 90 95 GRAGKED.COM The hair had to fit strict criteria such as being blonde, over 22 inches long, and nev- er being treated with chemicals or hot irons.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/3/877503.jpg)
Converse are shipped as “slippers,” not shoes.
![Converse shoes have fuzzy soles so that they can be imported as slippers. GRACKED.COM Tariff rates for importing shoes into the US can be as high as 37.5% and vary widely based on material used, but classifying the shoe as a slipper guaran- tees the rate at 3%.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/2/877502.jpg)
African buffalo herds “vote.”
![African buffalo herds display voting behavior to indicate their travel preferences. CRACKED.COM They do this by standing up, staring in one direction and then lying back down. Only adult fe- males vote.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/0/877500.jpg)
A pee-icicle formed on a space shuttle.
![In 1984, a giant pee-icicle formed on the outside of the space shuttle Discovery. NASA Discover CRACKED.COM Astronauts had to break it off using a robotic arm and shut down the toilet for the remainder of the mission.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/9/877499.jpg)
A steel plant paid it’s workers with $2 bills to highlight their importance on the local economy.
![In 1989, Geneva Steel paid its employee bonuses in $2 bills to illustrate the company's effect on the economy. TWO DOLLARS TWO DOLLARS 2 THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 2 A A 07717000A 1 WASHINGTON.D.C. 1 G A DE OT A07717000 A FK G 17 1 Dave Enobede Sabal SERIES 2003 I State Secondary of Be Smarry MEFFERSON MIED UNTTEDSTATESOFAMERICA TWO DOLLARS TWODOAARS LIMER DOLLARS CRACKED.COM When the bills began to appear in different places, people recog- nized the importance of the company to the local economy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/0/1/877501.jpg)
There used to be a “tapeworm diet.”
![During the Victorian Era, there was a tapeworm diet trend. CRACKED.COM The style was to have pale skin, eyes that looked di- lated, red cheeks and lips, and a tiny waist. In the age of corsets, they also in- gested tapeworms to lose weight.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/8/877498.jpg)
Ancient Greece believed the uterus wandered around the inside of a woman.,
![People in ancient Greece believed that the uterus could wander around the body like an animal. CRACKED COFF As the uterus ambled around the body cavi- ty in search of a means of conception, it would cause hyste- ria in women.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/7/877497.jpg)
Opossums don’t “play dead,” they faint.
![Opossums don't play dead on purpose, it's a completely involuntary act. CRACKED.COM Under intense fear, opossums fall into a comatose-like state that can last for hours, accompanied by the emission of a corpse-like smell.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/6/877496.jpg)
Reebok had to recall a line of shoes because it was named after a mythological rapist.
![In 1997, Reebok released a line of athletic shoes for women named 'Incubus.' Reebok CRACKED.COM They immediately had to recall 180,00 pairs of these shoes after news stories broke out that Reebok had named women's shoes af- ter a mythological demon that violates women in their sleep.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/9/5/877495.jpg)