› added 10 years ago

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TIL a man saved President Ford from assassination then had his life ruined as the media outed him as gay

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vo9B TIL ‘This Land is Your Land’ by Woody Guthrie was written as a counter to 'God Bless America’. There was even socialist style verse that has been removed from the modern version
j6g6Q TIL about the 1947 Texas City Disaster: A ship carrying ammonium nitrate, among other cargo, exploded. The resulting detonation was felt in Louisiana, recorded by a seismograph in Denver, CO, and caused a 15-foot tidal wave. The blast and devastation has been likened to a small-scale Hiroshima.
69ek8 TIL while the 'This is a true story' card at the beginning of 'Fargo' is untrue, the story was based on two real-life crimes (someone actually was chopped up in a wood chipper).
x6po1 TIL that the first clear cola was White Coke, a clear variant of Coca-Cola produced in the 1940s at the request of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, who did not want to be seen drinking Coke as it was a symbol of American imperialism. The clear beverage was intended to resemble vodka.
pGJe TIL that an Olympic rower named Henry Pearce stopped mid-race to allow ducklings to pass by him and he still won the race.