› added 2 years ago

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TIL: After organizers told Roberta Gibbs women weren't capable of marathons, she dressed in men's clothes, hid near the starting line & joined the middle of the pack at the '66 Boston Marathon. When runners figured out her disguise, they began cheering. She was the 1st woman to finish the race.

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jNXvv TIL JFK's father Joseph Kennedy made much of his fortune through insider trading. FDR later made him chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. When asked why he appointed a crook, FDR replied, "set a thief to catch a thief." Kennedy proceeded to outlaw the practices that made him rich.
oBxlE TIL That a two-time felon impersonated a U.S. Army Captain during a bridge collapse, taking command of a disaster center. He would direct FBI agents and was appropriating vehicles and equipment for the rescue effort before fleeing.
o4Vr TIL that Vishakanyas or ‘Poison damsels" were girls who were used as assasins.They were made poisonous by exposing them to low-intensity poison from a very young age. Their body fluids would be “poisoned” and sexual contact would thus be lethal to other humans.
wGW7 TIL Genghis Kahn killed 40 million people during his conquest, enough to cool the planet. He removed 700 million pounds of carbon- roughly equivalent to the amount of carbon global society now produces annually from gasoline.
LkmV0 TIL Dubbed as one of the worse sales promotions in history, Hoover nearly went bankrupt after promising UK customers a flight to the USA and back if they spent £100 or more on their products. Hoover cancelled the promotion before many customers received their tickets and some even took legal action.