› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the Mormons did not allow African-Americans to become priests until 1978, and that African-Americans were prohibited from taking part in many church ceremonies.

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K5b4 TIL that Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani fell in love with a French dancer so hard, he sold everything he owned and bestowed her with thousands of roses. His romantic gesture inspired the popular Russian song A Million Scarlet Roses (1984).
NMrJ TIL For years an American magician named William Robinson masqueraded as a Chinese performer named Chung Ling Soo. He never spoke English in public until he was fatally shot during a performance of his bullet catch trick. His only words on stage; “Oh my God. Something’s happened. Lower the curtain.”
e9Qb TIL: World of Beer has an internship, called “Drink it Interns,” that pays $12,000 for four months to travel, drink beer and write about it. Plus all travel paid for!
LQrym TIL Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street," became the wealthiest woman of the early 20th century, amassing a $100M fortune (~$2.7B today) by investing in real estate, railroads, and mortgages. Green was also a miser who wore the same black dress daily, ate only oatmeal, and lived in cheap housing.
nWnKo TIL the term “gaslighting” originates in a British play-turned film from the 1930s. The play was called “Gas Light” and the plot is about a husband who mentally and emotionally manipulates his wife into believing she is crazy by changing the intensity of the gas lamps within their home.