› added 5 years ago

319

Today I learned about Project 100,000, which saw nearly 354,000 intellectually, physically, or mentally impaired men and women drafted into the US military during the height of the Vietnam war, going on to suffer casualty rates three times higher than that of normal soldiers.

Read more historynet.com

via reddit.com

8aZm4 TIL JFK's maternal grandmother, Mary Josephine Hannon(1865-1964), outlived him by 10 months and never knew he was assassinated.
jNlyj TIL that Super Bowl XXVII was originally to be hosted in Tempe, Arizona, but was moved after voters rejected an initiative to recognize MLK Day. After it eventually passed, the NFL awarded Super Bowl XXX to Tempe three years later.
QoJM TIL the only reason MLK was on the hotel balcony where he would be assassinated was because he was taking a break from a pillow fight in his room
eX76 TIL that Air Force One is not a single plane but is simply the name for whatever plane the president happens to be on.
PrxJ TIL Richard Branson started Virgin Air by putting up a sign when his plane was cancelled, selling tickets. He used the money raised from the tickets to rent an airplane.