› added 6 years ago

125

TIL Joe Kennedy, JFK's father, made a fortune as a stock market and commodity investor before cashing in all his stocks just days before the stock market crash of 1929. Consequentially, he was one of the few people who vastly increased their fortune during the great depression.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

gw97 TIL the first sighting of the chupacabra was by Madeline Tolentino in Puerto Rico after she saw the 1995 science fiction horror movie “Species.” Her description of the chupacabra is very similar to the creature in the movie (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger, of “Alien” fame).
61km TIL Abraham Lincoln is in the wrestling hall of fame losing only one out of about 300 matches and once challenged an entire crowd of onlookers after dispatching an opponent: “I’m the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.”
nWPA7 TIL Abolitionist John Brown had originally asked Frederick Douglass to join him in his raid on Harpers Ferry, but Douglass declined as he believed Brown's plan was suicidal. John Brown was later tried and executed for the raid less than two months after its occurrence.
d65Q TIL Missoula, Montana has a whole “underground city” tunnel network that was used for bootlegging and prostitution rings that is still accessible today.
lowEN TIL that Werner Heisenberg was pressured by the Nazis to work on the atomic bomb, and his refusal would mean death. Heisenberg took on the project, but purposely sabotaged it to ensure failure.