› 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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Zvwp TIL maintain morale, WWI wartime censors blocked early reports of the 1918 Influenza epidemic in their countries. However, papers were free to report the epidemic’s effects in neutral Spain, creating a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit—thus the pandemic’s nickname, the Spanish flu.
B9rL TIL Historians believe the fate of Christianity hinged on the Battle of Tours where an Arab invasion force was defeated by a Frankish force in present-day France, preventing the spread of Islam to all of Western Europe and preserving Christianity as the religion of Europe.
60w8 TIL Robert Maxwell, a noncombatant in WWII, was awarded the Medal of Honor for holding off a platoon armed with automatic weapons with 3 other soldiers using just .45 pistols and throwing himself on a grenade, absorbing the full blast. He is one of 7 surviving medalists, age 94.
Pgje TIL an Iraqi Man moved to Australia and used the Welfare System as Income. Some years later he became successful and wrote a check for more than $18,000 to the Australian Government (Every cent they gave him).
b6LK7 TIL in 2010, after 90 years of publication, Canadian magazine "The Beaver" changed its name to "Canada's History" because the modern slang definition for "beaver" resulted in their promotional emails being sent to the spam folder.