› added 12 years ago

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TIL John Forbes Nash (of A Beautiful Mind fame) was admitted to graduate school on the strength of a one sentence recommendation letter from his advisor that read “This man is a genius”.

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41rN TIL in 1971 John List murdered his family to save their souls and arranged their bodies on sleeping bags. He then cleaned up, cut himself out of the family’s photos, turned on a religious radio station, and fled. Only after the lights in the house had burned out one by one did neighbors call police.
awyGb TIL Jerry Lewis never wore the same pair of socks twice. He would wear two or three brand-new pairs of sweat socks every day, going through up to 1000 pairs a year since the early 1950s. They were inexpensive and he paid retail. After wearing them once they were donated to orphanages or boys' homes.
dJXd TIL Billionaire Daniel Keith Ludwig Had Frozen His Genetic Material, Believing His Estranged Ex-Wife’s Daughter Might Challenge his Will. 40 Years Later, and after his Death, She Sued The Estate And Lost, Because DNA Analysis Proved He Wasn’t Her Father.
BgNW TIL Hurricane Sandy sank the HMS Bounty (the ship used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), was predicted to be a 100 billion dollar storm, and still, the Sentinels who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers stood guard through it all.
awrvo TIL about Yoshio Nakamura. An American Citizen of Japanese decent who was sent to an interment camp during WWII but enlisted in the army and fought in Italy to break the German line. He used his GI bill to earn a degree to become a teacher but school districts wouldn't hire him due to his heritage.