› added 6 years ago

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TIL of Hessy Levinsons Taft who had her picture submitted into a contest to find the "most beautiful Aryan baby." She won. What the Judge, Joseph Goebbels, didnt know was that Hessy was a Jew and the photographer had entered the picture because he "wanted to make the Nazis (look) ridiculous."

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pY4p4 TIL that cities in New England often had a plot of land dedicated for people who didn’t own land. They are known as “poor farms”. Some of them still exist today and are established by towns as land that must be used for charitable purposes.
bpd4 TIL the University of Delaware had a MANDATORY “ideological reeducation program” for dorm students indoctrinate them on approved views on politics, race, sexuality, and more. Students who refused to participate, or to praise the program when it was under investigation were threatened with expulsion.
VBJvD TIL After leaving NASA in 1971, Neil Armstrong named his farm for a valley described in "The Lord of the Rings" and chose an email address with a Tolkien theme. There is a theory he based his One Small Step quote on "The Hobbit"
pndp TIL when the world’s largest diamond was discovered in South Africa, it was shipped to England on a steamboat under heavy security. But it was a diversion, and the real stone was sent in a plain box via post.
omkE TIL that Luasfilm employs a guy whose job is maintaining the Star Wars canon. The position was created to avoid a repeat of incidents like a 1978 Star Wars novel that depicted Luke and Leia getting romantic.