15 Loopy Facts That Spiked Our Volleyballs

No Australians were involved with the founding of the Outback Steakhouse.
15 Loopy Facts That Spiked Our Volleyballs

A few days ago I was in a bookstore looking for books to read. My eyes landed on this title, which caught my attention because it was funny. It had a picture of two people fighting with each other, like a boxing match. It's an ancient Greek myth about the war between Zeus and Poseidon for control over the sky, the sea, and everything.

This is a story about how Zeus won by using some dirty tricks that would have been unthinkable in ancient times, when gods were more powerful than humans and they could just order mortals around. In this story there are two gods, so you'll probably be wondering who they're supposed to represent. One is a god from the Mediterranean, while the other is a god from the Middle East.

But, to my disappointment, somebody scrawled out a bunch of text past the introduction and wrote down a list of unrelated facts instead. That list went ...

Harley Quinn was invented for the Batman animated show.

Harley Quinn was an invention of the Batman Animated Series. CRACKED.COM Her first appearance was in the episode Joker's Favor and what originally was intended as a minor character evolved into the iconic figure that she is today.

CBR

Acid rain was a bigger problem in the 70s and 80s.

In the 70's and 80's, dead acidic lakes were fairly common in the US, Europe and Canada because of acid rain. CRACKED.COM The acidity in lakes killed all microbes and aquatic life, resulting in crystal clear water that allowed the lake bottom to be visible.

BBC

The Children’s Television Act is responsible for every very special episode.

The Children's Television Act required kids'TV to serve the educational and informational needs of children. CRACKED.COM This is why many 90s cartoons had a shoehorned educational message for kids added to the story.

Variety

The Queen doesn’t need to break in her own shoes.

Queen Elizabeth has an official shoe-wearer who breaks in her shoes so they don't give her blisters. CRACKED.COM The Queen has very little time to herself and not time to wear in her own shoes, and as we share the same shoe size it makes the most sense this way, says Angela Kelly.

Today

Cats are most active during low light times.

Ccats are not nocturnal or diurnal, they are crepuscular: most active during dusk/dawn. CRACKED.COM They tend to lay low in the darker night-time and day-time hours, when other predators may be hanging about.

PetMD

Dave Thomas studied under the Colonel himself.

Wendy's founder Dave Thomas was a mentee of Colonel Sanders. CRACKED.COM Thomas came up with the idea for the rotating bucket sign and having the Colonel appear on TV. Не later sold his stake in four of his franchises back to Sanders for $1.5 million to fund his restaurants.

Mashed

Theo van Gogh allowed his brother Vincent to focus on his art.

Vincent van Gogh's younger brother, Theo, enabled him to devote himself to his painting. CRACKED.COM Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to produce the art he made during his life. Не also died 6 months after his brother's suicide and today they are buried next to each other.

Van Gogh Letters

A prisoner kept his word and returned to captivity after visiting his mom.

Captain Robert Campbell asked the Kaiser to visit his mother in England while he was a prisoner of in WW1. CRACKED.COM Surprisingly he was given permission, provided he returned to prison afterwards, which he did.

News Shopper

A Suzuki Samurai got one over on a Jeep.

When one adventurer drove a Jeep Wrangler to the world record altitude of 6,646 m, he left a sign saying Jeep Parking Only. GRAGKED COM The next record breakers, who had a Suzuki Samurai and climbed up to 6,688 m on the same volcano, removed that sign.

Auto Blog

A 3,200 year old tablet has a record of excuses for missing work.

There's a 3,200-year-old Egyptian tablet that records excuses for why people missed work. CRACKED.COM Some excuses include drinking with Khonsu, a bleeding daughter, drinking with their father, brewing beer, and wrapping the corpse of their mother.

British Museum

Alan Turing was very prolific.

Alan Turing, the cryptographer, was also an Olympic-level runner. CRACKED.COM Не was responsible for breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, and also developed a new field of biology out of his fascination with daisies.

PBS

No Australians were involved with the founding of the Outback Steakhouse.

Outback Steakhouse was founded in Tampa, FL by four Americans who had never visited Australia. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE GRAGKED.COM They saw an opportunity to ride the wave of popularity of all things Australian following the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee. Their concept was American food and Australian fun.

MentalFloss

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