› added 2 years ago

138

TIL that many Union veterans of the US Civil War worked in the marketing campaign for the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, canvassing to sell subscriptions to the book that the dying and destitute general wrote to provide an income to his family. Grant's memoirs became a bestseller of the 19th Century.

bjNZ TIL Certain Psychopaths (“short of full blown”) Can Make Effective CEOs Due To Traits Such as “superficial charm,” ability to manipulate, “coolness under pressure,” “lack of empathy. ”
poRO TIL newborns start at the age of 1 in China and other east-asian cultures. And at the beginning of Lichen(event during February) one year is added to the person’s age. So people may be one or two years older in the ‘Asian reckoning’ traditional system than in the Western system.
Eglr0 Til about Jubb'adin, a village in the Qalamoun mountains northwest of Damascus Syria. Though the locals converted to Sunni Islam in the 18th century, they resisted Arabization and speak Western Aramaic, the closest Aramaic variety to what Jesus Christ spoke
gJAb TIL that China has a limit of 34 Hollywood movies imported per year. This is why movie directors try to protagonise China in their movies to try and get their movie into one of the 34 (eg The Martian where China helps NASA).
JY8mv TIL The Beatles were a strong influence in American civil rights, refusing to play for segregated audiences and even put it in their contract. They refused to play at the Gator Bowl in FL in 1964 until the desegregated the audience.