5 Unexpected Facts About Life As A Minority In The Middle Ages

Life could be miserable but sometimes surprisingly wasn't.

Authors: By Chris Corlew
Published: January 19, 2022
Comments: 26

Marvel's Bizarre History With Vampires

Quick, read this before the 'Morbius' movie inflicts Jared Leto on us all.

Authors: By Jon Hogan
Published: January 19, 2022
Comments: 0

Knights Had An Embarrassing (And Dangerous) Risk From Horseback Riding

In addition to the expected risks knights dealt with, they also had to worry about fatal butt problems.

Authors: By Ethan Tyrrell
Published: January 19, 2022
Comments: 0

14 Random Facts to Get One Step Closer to Knowing Everything

These amount to a teeny-tiny pile of knowledge, but it’s still knowledge.

Authors: By Andres Diplotti, Cracked Writers
Published: January 19, 2022
Comments: 5

ONE CRACKED FACT

Diluting Spices Was Once A Crime Punishable By Death

They'd shove that spice down your throat.

Authors: By Ryan Menezes
Published: January 19, 2022
Comments: 3

29 Celebrity Name Change Backstories

By:: Cracked Plasticians

May 02, 2019

29 Celebrity Name Change Backstories

Cracked pays people to make smart memes. Visit the Photoplasty and Pictofacts Workshop to get in on it.

Celebrities change their names all the time, and it's not always because Cruise sounds cooler than Mapother. A lot of times there's a truly interesting, if not juicy, story behind a famous person's stage name.

For example ...

29 Entry by Harvey Sapigao

CRAy Leonardo Dicaprio's first name was inspired by none other than Leonardo da Vinci. While his mother was pregnant with DiCaprio, she and his father

28

My real name is Robert Elias. -Robert Downey Jr. The Iron Man star revealed that his father, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., changed his name sO he cou

Continue Reading Below

27 Entry by Chan Teik Onn

Alicia Beth Moore (Pink) got her stage name from Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs because she shared the Steve Buscemi character's sassy and smart-ass attitu

26 Entry by Amyan Bridi

CRACKED COM 2 CHAINZ'S INITIAL RAP NAME WAS TITY BOY (AND THAT'S BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY BREAST FED CHILD IN HIS FAMILY). But according to him, 2 Ch

25 Entry by Scott Laffey

Ace of Cakes star DUFF GOLDMAN got his nickname when his big brother couldn't say his real name, calling him Duffy as a baby instead of Jeffrey. C

24 Entry by Chan Teik Onn

Charlotte Emma Aitchison couldn't think Of a good stage name, SO she picked her MSN screen name charlie XCX which stuck after she got famous. CRACKEDO

23 Entry by Cracked Plasticians

Katy Perry changed her name from Katy Hudson to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson. ? ? But Kate Hudson's father had changed his name from

22 Entry by S Peter Davis

BUSTER KEATON WAS KNOWN FOR HIS DEATH-DEFYING STUNTS BORN JOSEPH KEATON, HIS NICKNAME CAME FROM HARRY HOUDINI WHO SAW HIM FALL DOWN THE STAIRS AS A

21 Entry by col.tidsworth

CRACKEDOON In 1967, David Jones had to change his last name to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees. His new surname, Bowie, was a trib

20 Entry by Chan Teik Onn

The Weeknd came up with his stage name as a reference to the time when he ran away from home with his friend for the weekend. He had to drop an'e' in

19 Entry by BRWombat

Actor CREED BRATTON is often as odd in real life as his namesake character on THE OFFICE. He didn't like his given name. So while partying in Europe i

18 Entry by Markos Hasiotis

David Tennant's birth name was David McDonald but there was already a David McDonald in the actors' union he was joining SO he had to change it. He fl

17 Entry by Kristina Yong

Oprah Winfrey was named Orpah after a woman in the Bible. Along the way, her name got misspelled as Oprahs SsO often that it just kinda stuck. CRA

16 Entry by Scott Laffey

Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi was born in Australia as Amanda ROgers. The actress said she was struggling with her identity as a gay teen,

15 Entry by Andrea Meno

CRACKED.COM Brie Larson's given surname is Desaulniers, but she wanted one that's easier to say. So she took the surname of Kirsten Larson, her favori

14 Entry by Maclise

Keanu Reeves's first name is Hawaiian, ke'anu meaning cool breeze over the mountains. As awesome as that is, his agents thought it Wasn't good enoug

13 Entry by Lornie Aswila Jeffrey Lausin

Emily Jean Stone changed her name to Emma Stone for two reasonss 1. Her real name was already taken when she tried to register with the Screen Actors

12 Entry by masta_X

Martin Sheen's real name is Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez. BE a Due to prejudices against Hispanics in 1950s New York, he named himself Martin after

11 Entry by mjrubioluzardo

Ella Yelich-o'connor, better known as Lorde, has been into royal stuff since she was a kid, and thought that Lord was a great stage name- she just add

10 Entry by Kristina Yong

Belcalis Almanzar was nicknamed Bacardi'o. 0O after the liquor company -a because her sister's name is Hennessy. It was her Instagram name but her ac

9 Entry by Andrea Meno

John Simon Ritchie was named Sid Vicious after a hamster. PRU ARUS JRITY CCALISTS Bandmate Johnny Rotten's pet hamster was named Sid, and he mocking

8 Entry by RayMav

Post Malone He went to a rap StoyAoy name generator and just typed Austin Post, his real name. ontloy

7 Entry by Markos Hasiotis

Buzz Aldrin's first name was actually Edwin but his sister, who couldn't pronounce brother, called him Buzzer and it stuck. BU27 ALDRIN CRACKEDCON

6 Entry by RayMav

IGGY AZALEA Iggy came from her dog's name. Azalea was derived from the street her mom lived on.

5 Entry by Kristina Yong

Nicki Minaj's birth name is Onika Maraj. Her friends started calling her Nicki but she was convinced to change her last name by a company exec igas

4 Entry by Andrea Meno

Ben Haggerty took his stage name from a high school art assignment where he named a superhero figurine Professor Macklemore. CRACKEDCON

3 Entry by Andrea Meno

Adam Spiegel got nicknamed Spike Jonze by his dirtbike shop co-workers. He didn't shower before work, so his hair stuck out in spikes. CRACKED.COM

2 Entry by Kristina Yong

Miley Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus) was called ''Smiley as a child because she smiled all the time. Eventually, Smiley became Miley, which she lega

1 Entry by mjrubioluzardo

Alicia Keys chose her last name after her friend told her of a dream about trying to open a locked briefcase. (...) I was like, 'Keys? and I play the

Recommended For Your Pleasure

How Jim Henson 'Directed' His Own Muppets Memorial Service

The Muppets' creator oversaw his own funeral from beyond the grave - and it ruled.

Authors: By Maxwell Yezpitelok
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 0

The Garfield Restaurant Is Dead, But Lives On As NFTs (Of Course)

The GarfieldEATS saga has come to its inevitable end.

Authors: By Maxwell Yezpitelok
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 4

Weird Al Yankovic Is Getting His Own Biopic Starring Daniel Radcliffe

We smell an Oscar ... and probably some other stuff.

Authors: By Carly Tennes
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 7

'King of The Hill': Arlen, Texas Is Geographically Impossible

Dallas? Houston? A commune in France? It's more complicated than meets the eye.

Authors: By Carly Tennes
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 14

Tell Us Now: 17 Ridiculous Lies We Believed As Kids

Adults say the darndest things, and kids believe 'em.

Authors: By Cracked Readers, Shea
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 32

15 Times Hollywood Was Guilty Of Whitewashing In The 21st Century

TV’s “The Lone Ranger” had an Indigenous Tonto in the ‘40s, but the 2013 movie… Johnny Depp!

Authors: By Jay L'Ecuyer
Published: January 18, 2022
Comments: 99