› added 11 months ago

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TIL about Christine Jorgensen, whose gender transition became the subject of a front-page news story in the 50s. She used her fame and platform to advocate for the rights of transgender people.

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N496 TIL that 95% of historic mosques and monuments (many 1000 yrs old) in Mecca were torn down by the Saud family to make hotels, palaces and libraries.
loP91 TIL that on November 21st 1964 the FBI sent a package to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and in it was a letter that instructed him to commit suicide.
R5V4l TIL that Disney World executives used to have themed parties known as “The Last Days of the Raj” where they would recreate and celebrate the days of British Colonialism. This later became the inspiration for the Disney “Adventurers Club”
VBgj4 TIL in 2010 a local beekeeper found their bees producing an obnoxious-tasting red honey, due to the bees foraging on the waste of a local cherry juice factory (which contained Red No. 40) and on sweet-tasting antifreeze from a nearby bus service depot.
DQPmp TIL that it took Germany 92 years to pay off its WW1 Debt, around 500 Billion Dollars in todays money (132 billion gold marks).