› added 11 years ago

131

TIL that after Kenny Waters was convicted of murder, his sister put herself through college and law school to prove his innocence. She worked with the Innocence Project to get DNA tested, and he was freed. The 2010 movie “Conviction”, starring Hillary Swank, was based on his story.

Read more innocenceproject.org

via reddit.com

5YRoP TiL About The Map: Vesuvius, 1832 ,Kate Wiles on Auldjo’s artistic map of Vesuvius across 200 year of major eruptions.
B0Vk TIL Apple got the idea of a desktop interface from Xerox. Later, Steve Jobs accused Gates of stealing from Apple. Gates said, “Well Steve, I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”
4kMAb TIL there was an early 1900s act named "Sober Sue", who's draw was she never smiled. A theater offered $1000 to any one who could make her laugh, attracting big comedians. Crowds came out to watch them try, and fail, giving them a free show. Later it came out that Sue suffered from facial paralysis.
jBYj TIL prior to WWII a Viennese psychiatrist organized a special counseling program which for the first time in years lead to zero student suicides. Later imprisoned in Nazi camps, his family murdered, he wrote in secret a book about the meaning of life which became a bestseller after his liberation
wVaY TIL Keanu Reeves gave away $50mil of his profits from the Matrix series, giving $1.75mil to each special-effects and costume designer responsible for the films. He’s channeled millions into his sister’s leukemia battle, taken 90% paycuts on films, and doesn’t own a mansion.