Post * 4oLw — Curious Curator

› added 10 years ago

83

TIL that in 2009, the UK tried to prevent the indigenous population of the British Indian Ocean Territory from returning to their homelands by establishing a “marine reserve”, making it difficult for them to reclaim their land and re-settle. The documents later showed up on Wikileaks.

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Y7mYP TIL Self made millionaire Harris Rosen adapted a Florida neighborhood called Tangelo park, cur the crime rate in half, and increased the high school graduation rate from 25% to 100% by giving everyone free daycare and all high school graduate scholarships.

DQQRv TIL the painting Las Meninas is one of the most analyzed works in western art. Critics have called it the “theology of painting” and “true philosophy of art”. It’s influenced many artists including Goya and Sargent. Picasso was so obsessed with the painting he executed 58 different interpretations.

WeZL TIL that during the Cold War the US seriously considered dropping a nuclear bomb on the Moon as a show of military superiority.

WkKvA TIL Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which used to air many PSAs through the 80s to the mid-2000s, was actually funded by alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical companies. The ads steered clear warnings about legal drugs being abused.

6918m TIL there is a Poison Book Project dedicated to identifying and cataloging antique books that were made with poisonous substances (such as arsenic in the color "Paris Green") to improve the awareness and safe handling of these books.