Most of us have a tiny little Ravenclaw hidden inside of us, and we love learning new things about our world. Here are random trivia and fun facts that completely blew our minds.
1. Nickelodeon Almost Cancelled Hey Arnold’s Christmas Episode
Nickelodeon almost canceled Hey Arnold’s Christmas episode because they thought kids wouldn’t care about its portrayal of the Vietnam War. An executive revoked the decision when her nine-year-old son saw a rough cut of the episode and asked ‘Mom, is that what Vietnam was all about?’.
2. Steven Spielberg Beat James Cameron To The Film Rights Of Jurassic Park
This was just by just a few hours. However, after Cameron saw Spielberg’s film, he realized that Spielberg was the right person for it because dinosaurs are for kids, and he would’ve made “Aliens with dinosaurs.”
3. Is Tipping Mandatory?
In 2009, two college students were jailed for refusing to pay a $16.35 mandatory tip at a Pennsylvania restaurant, citing poor service. After national attention, charges were dropped, and the case sparked widespread debate over tipping and whether it should depend on service quality.
4. Muppets Most Wanted: Behind The Scenes
During the filming of the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted, Danny Trejo’s mom passed away. Danny managed to keep it all together when people on set gave him their condolences, until Kermit offered his own, which caused him to run to the bathroom to bawl his eyes out.
5. A Family In And Out Of The TV
Bryan Cranston, who starred in “Malcolm in the Middle”, used to invite Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey, to spend weekends with the Cranston family.
6. The Big Mistake
In 2016, a man deleted his open-source Javascript package, which consisted of only 11 lines of code. Because this package turned out to be a dependency on major software projects, the deletion caused service disruptions across the internet.
7. A Chance Encounter
In 2005, Joaquin Phoenix flipped his car. He heard someone tell him to “just relax”. Phoenix replied, “I’m fine. I am relaxed.” The man replied, “No, you’re not.” The man then stopped Phoenix from lighting a cigarette while gasoline was leaking into the car cabin. The man was Werner Herzog.
8. The Tommy Cooper Tragedy
Tommy Cooper was a Welsh magician/comedian whose shtick was “a clumsy magician messes up his tricks”. He had a massive heart attack, collapsed, and died on stage during a live broadcast in front of 12 million viewers with a studio audience laughing at what they thought was just one of his acts.
9. The Sneakers’ Trick
Converse sneakers have a thin layer of felt on the bottom so that they can legally be classified as slippers. Therefore, it will be subjected to lower import costs.
10. Flappy Bird, The Uncontrollable Success
Flappy Bird, released in May 2013, became a sleeper hit in early 2014, and by the end of January, it was the most downloaded free game on the iOS App Store, earning $50,000 a day. However, the developer soon removed it, citing guilt over “the game’s addictive nature and overuse.”
11. The Last Letter
On November 29th 2001, Mike Myers received the final letter George Harrison ever sent anybody. Being a fan of satire, George handwrote the letter expressing his admiration for Mike’s “Austin Powers” movies. Mike received it on the set of “Austin Powers 3” on the day George died.
12. A Controversial Tax
Tipping was abolished in Switzerland in 1974 after a dispute over taxes on tips. Service is now included in prices, with higher wages replacing tips.
13. Fast Food Ads Ban
Quebec’s ban on toy and fast food ads directed at children under 13 has contributed to a reduction in childhood obesity rates. Great news!
14. Grand Theft
In 2016, a man stole $5 million from his workplace as an accounting department manager over the course of 7 years and spent $1 million of it on a single mobile video game, “Game of War”. Outside of that, he spent it on cars, furniture, and sports tickets.
15. You Can Learn This Alphabet In 20 Minutes
The Korean Alphabet was made because the King at the time didn’t like how only the rich could learn to read. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and create a new writing system from scratch that could be “learned before lunchtime.”
16. Martha Stewart’s Encounter With The Law
The television personality did not go to prison for insider trading. She was charged and found guilty of lying to the FBI.
17. Ghyslain Raza Is Thriving, Baby
Ghyslain Raza (the “Star Wars” kid) began getting tutored at home because the school staff asked him not to return the following year after students started to tease or mock him, which they saw as bad publicity. However, he was able to move past it and now has a law degree & is working on his PHD.
18. Idiocracy Was Not A Hit
Despite the popularity and huge cult following of the movie “Idiocracy,” it only made $495,303 gross at the box office. The production budget was $2.4M.
19. Watch Your Diet
Obese drivers are 80 percent more likely to die in a car accident than drivers who are not overweight. Moreover, you’re also less likely to get first aid from laypeople before the EMTs arrive since they will have trouble moving your body around.
20. Jack Sparrow Is A Real-Life Hero
In 1995, Johnny Depp saved Courtney Love’s life outside The Viper Room in Los Angeles. Depp performed CPR until paramedics arrived, helping revive Love before she was rushed to the hospital.
21. The Picture “The Scream” By Edvard Munch Depicts Someone Reacting To Hearing A Scream
“The Scream” is intimately tied to an experience the artist had in 1892. During a walk along a path outside Kristiania, which is now known as Oslo, Norway, the artist suddenly felt excruciating pain in his chest just as the sun began to set.
22. The Film That Became A Shelter
While filming “Metropolis” (1927), they would often end up with more children in the evening than in the morning. Coming from the poorest areas of Berlin, the children would sneak onto set or climb over the fence to experience the warm rooms, games, toys, cocoa, cake, and regular meals.
23. One Of The Biggest Deals in TV History
In 2007, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, creators of “South Park”, negotiated an ad-sharing deal with Comedy Central that gave the creators a 50-50 split on all digital revenue. Those digital rights helped them reportedly sign a $935 million, six-year deal in 2021.
24. The Space Jam Dispute
Chuck Jones, one of the original “Looney Tunes” directors, hated “Space Jam”. In particular, he took issue with the premise that Bugs Bunny would ask others for help in fighting the Monstars and believed Bugs would have fought them himself.
25. This Mistake Was Not Automatically Flagged By The System
A bank clerk dozed off with his finger on the keyboard and accidentally transferred 222,222,222.22 euros instead of 64.20 euros. His supervisor did not notice the error, approved the transaction, and was fired. The next year, a German labour court ruled the supervisor was unfairly dismissed.
26. False Accusations
Astronaut Anne McClain was the first person to be investigated for space crime in 2019 when her estranged wife accused her of accessing her bank account while in space. Fortunately, investigators found the accusations were false, and her now ex was charged with making false statements.
27. Theatrical Productions On Broadway Lose Money
Did you know that 80% of the theatrical productions on Broadway lose money, a failure rate that has remained “unchanged for years”? Big players like Disney can use this as marketing for merchandise and other products. The show itself may not make a profit, but it might encourage viewers to buy that Star Wars merchandise or rent out that Aladdin movie.
28. Twin Films
Meet the phenomenon known as “Twin Films”. Two movie studios simultaneously release the same type of movie. The phenomenon can result from two or more production companies investing in similar scripts at the same time, resulting in a race to distribute the films to audiences.
29. Hemingway Survived 2 Plane Crashes
While on safari, the novelist survived 2 plane crashes one day apart. The 2nd caught fire, and he had to smash open the door with his head, causing extensive burns & skeletal injuries. He was presumed dead until he walked out of the jungle “in high spirits”, carrying bananas.
30. The French Waiters’ Strike
In 1907, French waiters went on strike for better pay, more time off, and the right to grow mustaches. At the time, lower-class workers were forbidden to have facial hair.
