› added 8 years ago

281

TIL that many of the “witches” in the infamous Salem witch trials are now believed to have had Huntington’s disease and their symptoms were mistaken for possession by the devil.

Read more web.stanford.edu

via ift.tt

W7ZLB TIL That Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th Massachusetts portrayed in the movie 'Glory', was buried with his troops in a mass grave at Fort Wagner upon his death. Though the Confederates did so as an insult Shaw's family and friends believed he would have considered it an honor.
jYwn TIL The writers of ‘Friends’ didn’t originally intend for Joey to be dim, but when LeBlanc auditioned for the role, he put a “different spin” on the character, convincing the writers that his being dumb would be a great source of comedy.
R5Rx9 TIL in the 2006 documentary "This Film is Not Yet Rated" the director hired detectives to uncover the identities of the MPAA ratings & appeal boards, revealing that the former received very little training for rating films, and the latter consisted of studio/theater execs - as well as two clergymen
5V5BQ TIL the New State Assembly voted to honor Bruce Springsteen's song "Born to Run" as the "rock theme" of NJ. The bill didn't pass in the state senate when it was realized the song was about running away from New Jersey.
lZ11 TIL teenagers Jonason Pauley and Jesse Perrotta spent 2 years recreating the entire movie “Toy Story” shot-for-shot using stop-motion and marionette puppetry. The project required making two rooms in Pauley’s parent’s house into the ‘Toy Story’ set and repurposing toys from Goodwill. [Video in link]