› added 2 months ago

14

TIL about Genie, a child of an abusive father who kept her strapped to a chair for the first 13 years of her life, regularly beating her and communicating to her only in inhuman growls. When she was finally rescued, the only two phrases she knew how to say were, "Stop it" and "No more."

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

VMjMG TIL in 1937, dancer Patricia Douglas was assaulted at an MGM party. She hired a lawyer and tried to sue, even going to the federal court after the state court dismissed her suit. MGM spread lies about her, claiming she was promiscuous and had a venereal disease, and covered up the crime.
O0ga TIL the Eiffel Tower was originally planned to be demolished in 1909, but was saved because it was repurposed as a giant radio antenna. And in 1913, the tower transmitted a signal all the way to Washington DC.
YpbeA TIL Jeff Bezos’ team tried to keep him and his estranged wife, Mackenzie, together with a $12,500-a-week intensive therapy retreat in Maui, Hawaii. Friends wanted the Amazon boss to agree to a 30-day physical separation from Sanchez, and encouraged Jeff and MacKenzie to undergo couples therapy.
awvby TIL if a beta male mandrill wins a fight, it physically morphs into an alpha male over time, gaining facial coloration, bigger testicles, and the ability to breed.
epDy6 TIL the English word 'arena' comes from the Latin word harena, which was the fine-grained sand spread on the floor to soak up gladiator blood.