Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia Freak

February 20, 2018 | Sammy Tran

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia Freak


Whether you're looking to become the MVP on your team at the next trivia night at the pub or just looking to kill the last few minutes of your day, it's time for some fun! Here are 27 gut-busting facts hand-selected just for you. Or maybe the guy reading this over your shoulder. Maybe they're for him.


Fun Facts

1. Saint Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama (aka Gautama Buddha, or simply “Buddha”) is not only the foundational teacher of Buddhism, he’s also a Christian saint! Or rather, two Christian saints! Christianized versions of his story made their way into religious lore, where these stories diverged into two stories of saints known as Barlaam and Josaphat.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPicryl

 

2. Totally Jacked

Apple released the iPhone 7 in 2016, which was notably missing a headphone jack and caused a major uproar. What many people didn’t realize is that the headphone jack was likely one of the oldest technologies used to manufacture the tiny and advanced smartphones. The jacks (known as “phone connectors”) were first used in the 19th century to connect and disconnect lines on telephone switchboards. While phone jack sizes have changed, the basic principles have stayed the same since the technology was first created in 1878 — 140 years ago!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

 3. Personal Weather Network

No Apple Watch? Grab a cricket! The temperature (in Fahrenheit) can be approximated by counting the average number of times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds, and adding 40. Crickets are cold-blooded, and rely on the temperature of their environment to heat their bodies. Their “chirp” occurs when male crickets rub special patches on their wings together. The warmer it is outside, the warmer they are, and the faster they can contract the muscles they use to make their chirping sounds!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPixabay

4. Working Overtime

The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004. Spirit stopped operating in 2010, but Opportunity is still able to move around and transmit information, having exceeded its expected lifetime by almost 14 years!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakFlickr, GPA Photo Archive

Advertisement

5. Good Samaritan

In 1994, California taxi driver Juan Blanco made a discovery he’ll never forget. After driving a customer to a hotel, he realized the man left behind a fanny pack. Inside were keys, a set of passports, $60,000 in cash, and a gold medal! The customer had been Claudio Taffarel, who played as goalie for Team Brazil when they had won the FIFA World Cup the day before. Blanco, a soccer fan, returned the loot and was given a $1,000 reward, plus the joy of being able to tell the story of a lifetime.

Fun facts #4Getty Images

6. More Than a Delicious Breakfast

According to urban legend, croissants gained their signature crescent shape after Budapest defended itself from Turkish invasion; the crescent is a symbol of Islam. This led to Islamic fundamentalists in Syria banning croissants, which they consider to be a symbol of Christian victory over Muslims.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakFreepik, mrsiraphol

7. Straight or Curved?

In modern times, people opting for a straight or curved croissant likely aren’t making their choice based on politics. According to French law, the shape of a croissant signifies its fat content: if it’s straight, it will have been made with butter, while curved croissant may contain margarine or another fat. Other countries don’t always respect this distinction—UK-based Tesco announced all their croissants will be straight, as their customers find them easier to cover evenly with jelly.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

8. The Tale of Two Lauras

In 2001, nine-year old Laura Buxton of Staffordshire, England sent up a helium balloon with her name and address on it to see how far the balloon would float before being found. She wrote "Please return to Laura Buxton" on it. The balloon floated 140 miles and wound up in the hands of another nine-year-old—also named Laura Buxton! It was found by Andy Rivers, and he returned the balloon to his neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Buxton, to give to their daughter, without looking at the address on the balloon.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPxhere

9. Pen Pals

Actress Carey Mulligan and musician Marcus Mumford were childhood pen pals as children, but they lost touch. Both grew up and became successful—she starred in films such as An Education and Never Let Me Go. He topped the charts with his band Mumford & Sons. As adults, they back in touch—and fell in love! The two are now married with children.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakGetty Images

Factinate

Sign up to our newsletter.

History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.

Thank you!
Error, please try again.

10. The Chicken Cure

Switzerland was able to virtually eliminate rabies within its borders. Scientists determined that foxes were the main vector for rabies in the country, and placed chicken heads laced with vaccine around the Swiss Alps. Foxes ate the chicken heads, effectively inoculating themselves! Rabies may be a rare disease for humans to contract, but once symptoms appear, the fatality rate is close to 100%.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

Advertisement

11. Rainier Bear

A meddlesome black bear broke into a Washington State campground and had a bit of a party. The bear used his claws and teeth to puncture and drink 37 cans of beer! Interestingly enough, the bear seemed to know what he liked: the bear drank 36 cans of Rainier beer but only one can of Busch!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakWikimedia Commons, Martin Abegglen

12. From Hi-Fi to Wi-Fi

Audiophiles and home stereo listeners coined the term “high fidelity” to refer to a high quality of sound in home audio equipment. “Hi-fi” receivers, amps, and speakers were the standard if you wanted your records to sound great! When wireless internet appeared, the term was adapted—we now refer to “WiFi,” short for “wireless,” though the “fi” doesn’t stand for anything!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

13. World Travelers

The Norse Vikings were known as incredible travelers. Artefacts of a Viking settlement were found in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, suggesting the Vikings visited North America long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. In addition to their epic voyages, they also traded with other groups. A Viking treasure discovered in Helgö, Sweden in 1954 included an Irish crozier made of bronze and inlaid glass, a Buddha statue from North India, and a ladle from Africa!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPxhere

14. Influencing The Future

Stanley Kubrick sent out a press release to journalists instructing them on the pronunciation of the title of his latest film. The year was 1968, and the film was his epic sci-fi 2001: A Space Odyssey—Kubrick wanted the title pronounced as “two thousand and one” instead of “twenty oh one.” He hoped that if the film became popular (which it did), it would influence the pronunciation of the year when it came around, and the convention indeed stuck! Unfortunately, Kubrick didn’t live to see it: he passed away in 1999, just two years shy.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakFlickr, Camera Wiki

15. It’s My Party

Possibly the earliest example of Latin writing by a woman dates to 100 AD. The scrap consists of a writing tablet bearing an invitation to a birthday party from Claudia Severa to her sister, Sulpicia Lepidina: “On 11 September, sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday, I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us, to make the day more enjoyable for me by your arrival, if you are present. Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send him their greetings. I shall expect you, sister. Farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper and hail.”

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakHippopx

16. Doing More With Less

Makeup fans looking for good quality at a bargain should take note of Dallas Buyers Club. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling despite having a makeup budget of only $250 for 28 days of shooting!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakDallas Buyers Club(2013), Voltage Pictures

Advertisement

17. A Regular Willy Wonka

Carmel-By-The-Sea, a gorgeous seaside town in California, has attracted its fair share of notable residents over the years, but it’s only had one truly famous mayor: Clint Eastwood! Eastwood ran for mayor of the 4,000-resident town in 1986 on a platform of overturning a law forbidding the sale of ice cream cones.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakFlickr, Siebbi

 

18. Monkey à Monkey

At the time of Eastwood’s election as Mayor of Carmel, then-President Ronald Reagan gave Eastwood a congratulatory phone call. Reagan joked, “What's an actor who once appeared with a monkey in a movie doing in politics?” Eastwood had starred opposite Manis the orangutan in Every Way But Loose (1978). The joke was that Regan had starred in his own monkey movie, Bedtime For Bonzo (1951), which featured a chimpanzee named Peggy.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakBedtime for Bonzo(1951), Universal International Pictures

 

19. Good Advice

Speaking of Clint Eastwood and apes—rapper Del the Funky Homosapien collaborated with English virtual band Gorillaz on their hit “Clint Eastwood.” Del is the cousin of rapper Ice Cube, and had a lengthy rap career before the song came out, though he never had a huge hit on his own. According to the Miami Herald, Del wrote the lyrics to “Clint Eastwood” after reading a book called How to Write A Hit Record and following its instructions.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakShutterstock

20. The Future Is Female

More than 60% of all university students in Iran are women, including 70% of all students studying engineering and science!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

21. Big-Mouthed Papa

Darwin’s frog, named for Charles Darwin, is a species of frog found in forest streams of Argentina and Chile. This little hopper has a very unique method of child-rearing—when Darwin’s frog tadpoles hatch, a male frog swallows the tadpoles. He keeps the tiny amphibians in his vocal sac for about 60 days to allow them to grow. He then proceeds to cough up tiny fully-formed frogs!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakWikimedia Commons, Mono Andes

22. Worthwhile Stunt

Elijah Wood made his audition tape for Lord of the Rings himself! Wood dressed up in a homemade costume approximating how he thought a hobbit might dress, then went into the woods, and had a friend film his audition for him. Unlike his reluctant hero character Frodo, Wood certainly must have moxie!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakFlickr, Gage Skidmore

Advertisement

23. No Protests for This Pipeline

Beer taps in Germany’s Veltins-Arena are connected underground by a 3-mile long beer pipeline! The pipeline carries 52,000 litres of beer per day on game days, supplying the arena’s 15 restaurants and 35 cafés.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPixabay

24. These Colors Do Fade

Red, white, and blue no more. In 2012, NASA confirmed that five of the six American flags planted on the moon by various lunar missions were still standing where they were. The catch? The flags don’t really look like American flags anymore. In the harsh radiation of space, and the bright sunlight on the moon, unfiltered by any atmosphere, the flags have been bleached completely white.

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPxfuel

 

25. Sci-Fi Soccer

Qatar has won the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but Japan’s bid was mighty impressive. Their proposal included events powered by solar panels and energy-harvesting equipment that would convert attendees' footsteps into usable energy. But that’s not even the most impressive part! Their bid included a pledge to develop and implement technology that would allow stadiums around the world to project a real-time 3D telecast of the World Cup games! Holographic images would be projected onto real-life fields, replicating the experience of attending the World Cup in person. Despite a demonstration of the technology as it existed in 2010, they lost their bid, likely because it seemed way too ambitious!

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakPexels

26. Hello, Bonjour, Kon'nichiwa, Hola, *Pffffffftttttt*

In one indigenous tribe in South America, farting is a greeting. The isolated Yanomami use flatulence to say hello to each other... but how do they say goodbye?

Gut-Busting Facts To Send Your Favorite Trivia FreakWikimedia Commons, Sam valadi

27. Would You Like Fries With That?

If you consume fast food on a regular basis, it’s gross but very likely that you’ll inadvertently swallow about 12 pubic hairs a year. You're technically paying to eat those. There's no better time to take up home cooking!

Gut-Busting FactsGetty Images

 

Sources:  1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435, 36, 37


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.