› added 5 years ago

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TIL of the Powell Memorandum. A confidential memorandum entitled "The Attack on the American Free Enterprise System". It kickstarted a concerted effort to shift US opinion to the right and started a massive PR campaign to persuade Americans that the 'left' was bad for the average American.

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e0Jrn TIL that after Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer committed suicide before he was sentenced to prison, he was still employed in that position. His widow successfully applied for survivors benefits and received over $1 Million as he died while in office.
9wQBQ TIL that commander gene fluckey was one of the most skilled submarine commanders, managed to get one of the highest kill counts by tonnage, managed to be the only submarine crew to ever go onto enemy territory and destroy a train, and did so while not having a single injury with his crew.
R5DZ6 TIL why Neal's wife in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" was so emotional at the end of the movie. An entire subplot had been cut from the film in which she believed Neal was having an affair and that Del was a woman. When Del and Neal arrived, she realized Del was a man and Neal had been truthful.
PYEML TIL that Walt Disney helped the Army design a Mickey Mouse gas mask in the ‘40s to make chemical warfare less frightening to kids
0dYv TIL that Fred Phelps, the head of the Westboro Baptist Church quoted an article from The Onion as proof that homosexuals were actively trying to “recruit” others.