› added 7 years ago

171

TIL Nelson Mandela phoned Richard Branson asking for Bransons help as a large health club chain needed rescuing or thousands of jobs would be lost. Today, Virgin Active South Africa has 133 locations. More clubs than any other country.

Read more virgin.com

via ift.tt

R7gm7 TIL there is no word for ‘love’ in the language of Luxembourg
0l1y TIL Abraham Lincoln loved cats. He was a renowned Animal lover but cats held a special place. Mary Todd Lincoln was once asked if her husband had any hobbies, she replied “Cats.”
KOEjG TIL that Aretha Franklin insisted on being paid for gigs up front and in cash, and would often keep the cash on stage with her in her handbag
vPb04 TIL during WWII, the US military tested mustard gas on Japanese American, Puerto Rican, and African American soldiers. Rollin Edwards recalled: "It felt like you were on fire... Guys started screaming... It took all the skin off your hands."
M6nm TIL Soviet NKVD (KGB) chief Genrikh Yagoda was arrested and shot in 1938. His successor, Nikolai Yezhov, was arrested and shot in 1940. His successor, Lavrentiy Beria, was arrested and shot in 1953.