12 Random Bits of Trivia That Got Picked Last for Dodgeball and Have Something to Prove
If you have money to burn, you can by a $170,000 Labubu or a $375 crazy straw.
Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.
What Are People Even Doing Outside?
The outdoors activity industry is worth $640 billion. Interest in climbing and hiking is up nearly 14 percent recently, possibly because of the low barrier to entry in hard economic times. Fishing and boating make up the lion’s share of the economy, at $36 billion.
You Wanted an ‘Olympics on Drugs’? You Got It
The Enhanced Games are a series of competitions scheduled for next year in Las Vegas that encourage people to take as many illicit substances as possible to break physical records. The World Anti-Doping Agency is, naturally, trying to get it shut down.
The Craziest Crazy Straw
Tiffany & Co. once sold a $375 crazy straw that was made out of sterling silver and vermeil.
A Drinking Invention That’s Worth Shelling Out For
The Better TV Viewing Slanted Beer Mug is just what it sounds like: a beer mug with the cylinder cut somewhat short so you won’t break eye with the TV when you take a sip.
Appliance-Sized Devices Keep Spinning Precious Substances Out of Thin Air
Hot on the heels of a “fridge-sized” device that can take regular air and turn it into gasoline, a new “window-sized” device is said to be able to harvest drinking water from the atmosphere. A few panes could create enough water for one household to live off of sustainably.
How’s the USMNT Looking a Year Out From Their Big Home Game?
The team’s first game at the 2026 North America-hosted World Cup goes down a year from this week, and things aren’t looking great. While the coach is raking in $6 million a year, the team just lost four straight games for the first time since 2007.
Where Are the Best Tippers in America?
New Hampshire (20.9 percent average tip), West Virginia (21 percent) and Delaware (a whopping 22.1 percent) are the states with the highest average gratuity in the country.
Disney and Universal Are Teaming Up Against A.I., Finally
The companies have sued A.I. image generator Midjourney, calling it the “quintessential copyright free-rider” and “a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
If You Write Tom Hanks a Letter on a Typewriter, There’s a Good Chance He’ll Respond
A teacher instructed his class to write letters to noted typewriter aficionado Tom Hanks as a way to learn good typing skills, and Hanks surprisingly wrote back to every kid, saying things like, “I have horrible penmanship which is why I type. Thanks for the letter. Tom Hanks.”
How Much Would You Pay for a Human-Sized Labubu?
A life-size plush doll sold at a Beijing auction for $170,000.
A New Think-to-Text System Works 40 Times Faster Than Any Previous Attempts
A biotech company implanted a series of electrodes into the brain of an ALS patient, building a brain-to-text system that allowed him to speak instantly, interject in conversations and even sing.
Another New Brain Implant Is Extremely Stretchy
Scientists have developed a stretchable implant meant to study the developing brains of animal embryos, aka “cyborg embryos.”
