29 Shameful Bits of Trivia That Have Some Serious Explaining to Do

We honestly can’t believe they’re even showing their faces around here again
29 Shameful Bits of Trivia That Have Some Serious Explaining to Do

Well look who came crawling back! After these deceitful little tidbits snuck a myth in their last list, we kicked them right out of here. We have a strict no-myth policy, and we thought we made ourselves clear. 

We’re so disgusted that we can’t even look at them right now. If you notice any half-truths or full-blown mistruths, let us know and we’ll make sure to ban them for life.

Patriot Act

The USA Patriot in USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym. PROTECTIN CRACKED.COM It stands for Uniting & Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Re- quired to Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism.

Baby Boomers

The first baby-boomer was born in Philadelphia in 1946. CRACKED COM Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born seconds past midnight on January 1, 1946, in St. Agnes Hospital. About 3.4 million babies arrived in that first year of the baby boom generation.

Cell Phones

The first cell phone weighed 2.4 pounds. CRACKED.COM The first portable cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X, was in- vented in 1973 by Motorola. The device offered a talk time of just 30 minutes and required 10 hours to re- charge.

Batmania

Melbourne, Australia used to be named Batmania. CRACKED.COM Australian entrepreneur and explorer John Batman signed a deed with the men of the local Dutigullar tribe in 1835 to found a new colony, that would be- come Melbourne.

Fossilized Lightning

Fossilized lightning happens when lightning discharges into the ground and creates glass. GRACKED.COM Glass tubes called ful- gurites form in sedi- ment, such as sand, af- ter the intense heat from a lightning strike fuses the grains to- gether.

Brain Freeze

Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia is the medical term for brain freeze. CRACKED COM The pain response to the cold sensation in your mouth is thanks to sensory neurons that ping the brain after a change in temperature.

Paper Money

Paper money is not made from paper at all. 4112707E RITED THIS STATES DE E341127 THE UNITED STATES OBAMERICA OLLAH E3411270 5 e им OPAMERICA 303a E 34112707 E SENGER 5 ستسمو 5 E34112707E E34112707E 5 Rpk EXIT F I سلاميق I 5 ONE DOLLAR 1 5 5 E34112707E THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA E34112707E a 5 5 561127071 THE UNITED STATES F ONE DOLLAR & ONE DOLLAR a TOURINO 340LZ E34112707E 10 ATES OPAMERICA F 34132707 E / la 1 1 E 39112707 E E 34112707 3 ONE DOLLAR XTI00 aNo E ONE DOLLAR I 9 INTED STATES THE UNITED ST an J 5 و E 34112707 E I

Fire

A fire destroyed the patent to the fire hydrant. GRACKED COM In 1836, a large fire destroyed the patent office in Washington, DC, destroying all US patent records up until that point, including Frederick Graff's patent of the fire hydrant.

Trees

The Earth has more trees than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. CRACKED COM The 3 trillion trees on Earth eclipse the estimated number of stars in our galaxy, that range from 100 billion to 400 billion on the high end.

MLK

CRACKED MLK'S AUTOPSY REVEALED НЕ HAD THE HEART OF A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN. MLK was 39 at the time of his death. The state of his heart was probably due to stress.

Platinum

CRACKED SPANISH EXPLORERS THOUGHT PLATINUM WAS UNRIPE GOLD. Instead of collecting the precious metal they just stumbled upon, they threw it back into the river to ripen.

Palm Trees

CRACKED PALM TREES ARE NOT NATIVE TO LOS ANGELES. The famous ones we associate with LA were actually brought over from Spain in the 18th century for religious reasons.

Improv

CRACKED STUDIES SHOW IMPROV IS GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. It's believed to be helpful because it raises one's tolerance for uncertainty.

Cocaine

CRACKED EXPLORERS USED TO DRIP COCAINE IN THEIR EYES TO COMBAT SNOW BLINDNESS. Modern hospitals will also do this occasionally, for pain relief purposes, not snow blindness purposes.

Swans

CRACKED THERE'S A GUY IN ENGLAND WHOSE ENTIRE JOB IS TO CATCH SWANS FOR THE KING. The Keeper of The Swans, which is actually now two jobs, has to catch a bunch of swans and present them to the king (and also check their health and stuff). It is a terrible and dangerous job because swans are territorial and capable of drowning grown men.

Antarctica

CRACKED THERE ARE NO LAWS IN ANTARCTICA. However, in 1959 The Treaty Of Antarctica declared that any crimes committed there were under the jurisdiction of the native country of the perpetrator.

The Amish

The Amish sometimes use modern devices, like the computer. CRACKED.COM These computers are used solely for business, with many being used to help the Amish sell their products.

Divorce

Divorced people shower more. CRACKED.COM Those most likely to shower once a day or more include people with higher incomes, divorced people, and those that live in the South.

JFK

The Zapruder film cost the US government $16 million. CRACKED.COM The US government ended up paying the Zapruder family $16 million in 1999 for the official rights to the footage of JFK's assassination, as well as taking the original film from the family.

Potatoes

The potato comes from a wild plant located in Peru. CRACKED.COM It was completely unknown to the rest of the world until Spain's conquest of the Americas in the 1600s.

Bite Force

The average human can generate up to 200 pounds of bite force. GRAGKED.COM We have the necessary force to easily bite off a finger, but our brains stop us from doing so. For reference, a Piranha has a bite force of 72, and a rottweiler has one of 335.

Rabbits

It is illegal to own a rabbit in Queensland, Australia, unless you're a magician. CRACKED.COM Due to ecological damage stemming from people buying and releasing rabbits, Queensland decided to ban anyone who couldn't pull one from a hat from owning one.

Marathons

The world's oldest marathon runner was 101-years-old. NB ANS A adidas FLORA FLOR LEL G adidas CRACKED COM Fauja Singh ran the London Marathon in 7 hours 49 minutes. Не ran his first London marathon in 2000 and went on to compete in a further eight marathons.

Pirates

The most successful pirate of all time was a woman. CRACKED.COM Ching Shih, a Chinese citizen born into poverty in 1785, took over her husband Zheng Yi's fleet after his death, commanding more than 1800 ships and 80,000 pirates at her peak.

Horses

Horses can nap standing up thanks to special tendons. CRACKED.COM Sleeping on the ground leaves the horse vulnerable, so with the help of a special system of tendons and ligaments that lock the major ts in its legs, the horse can sleep for short periods while standing.

Iron Man

Iron Man had rocket powered roller blades at one time. CRACKED.COM In Tales of Suspense #45, jet-powered roller blades that popped out of his metal boots could allow Iron Man to reach speeds of 60 miles per hour.

Colorado

Colorado has a mile marker 419.99 on Interstate 70. CRACKED.COM Colorado Department of Transportation workers replaced the often stolen Mile 420 marker with this one after getting tired of replacing it.

The Longest Wedding Veil of All Time

CRACKED THE LONGEST WEDDING VEIL WAS OVER FOUR MILES LONG. The veil, measuring exactly 22,843 feet and 2.11 inches long, was worn by Maria Paraskeva, a bride from Cyprus, on her wedding day in 2018.

The Tallest Person in Recorded History

CRACKED THE TALLEST PERSON IN RECORDED HISTORY WAS OVER 8 FEET TALL. Robert Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, in 1918, and grew to a height of 8 feet 11.1 inches before his death at age 22.

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