› added 7 years ago

669

TIL that Maya Angelou became San Francisco's first black streetcar conductor at age 16. When asked why she wanted the job, she replied, "I like the uniforms. I like people."

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vP8ar TIL Ancient Greeks Voted to Kick Politicians Out of Athens if Enough People Didn’t Like Them
DJ9r TIL that when celebrated singer Marian Anderson was denied permission to perform for an integrated audience because she was black, President Franklin Roosevelt arranged for her to give a concert on the steps of Lincoln memorial that was heard by thousands in person and millions over the radio
lokvr TIL that in 1977 the FDA made a policy to exclude "all women of childbearing potential" from clinical trials after thalidomide (an anti-nausea drug used in pregnancy) caused detrimental birth defects.
jNnyQ TIL that while most tinnitus is psychosomatic, there are rare types called objective tinnitus in which the ear canal is producing a noise that can be heard by a third party. This type is often curable.
wLnW7 TIL African Americans made up a significant portion of the Continental army fighting the British in the American Revolution. At the Siege of Yorktown, one German officer estimated the American army to be about one-quarter black.