› added 5 years ago

95

Today I learned that the Oneida silverware company was founded by a free-love community in upstate New York, led by a Protestant preacher from the 1840's, who believed there was a connection between sex and spirituality. He experimented with perineum pressure during intercourse to block ejaculation.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

kJ1LB TIL that the "all persons are fictitious" disclaimer on most Hollywood movies is a response to a 1933 lawsuit over a film about the 1916 assassination of Rasputin. The wife of one of the people involved with the plot successfully sued MGM for invasion of privacy and libel.
VM7gm TIL about Bombay Beach in California. In the 1950s and '60s it was a thriving resort. Guests swam, water-skied, and golfed during the day, then headed to the yacht club to party into the night. Now, Bombay Beach is a bleached, rusted, abandoned wasteland. It's an apocalyptic landscape.
ADN17 TIL that despite US denial for 26 years, eight members of the Alabama Air National Guard volunteered to pose as Cuban rebel pilots during the Bay of Pigs invasion. Of these 8, 4 were killed when promised air cover never arrived, with two of the pilots dying in a firefight after being shot down.
jNKnX TIL Disney's Space Mountain uses fans to blow air on you to create the illusion that you are going faster than you really are.
Lkoav TIL the 1969 Beatles song "Come Together" was written for Timothy Leary, who was running for California governor against Ronald Reagan, however Leary received a 20-year sentence for marijuana possession ending his bid.