› added 6 years ago

370

TIL John F. Kennedy enjoyed a "privileged childhood of elite private schools, sailboats, servants and summer homes" during the Great Depression. He later claimed that he only learned about the Great Depression in the books he read while attending Harvard.

Read more millercenter.org

via reddit.com

e0BBb TIL to verify the hypothesis that some Canadian drivers intentionally run over reptiles, research in 2007 found that 2.7% of drivers intentionally hit reptile decoys masquerading as snakes and turtles. Indeed, several drivers were observed speeding up and positioning their cars to hit the reptiles.
NXrN1 TIL during the Coolie Ordinances in the Dutch East Indies it was ordained that plantation owners were completely free to exact physical or capital punishment on their indentured workers. This system ended in the early 1940s, and it is estimated many tens of thousands perished.
5VKjr TIL - The famous B-17 crash landing scene in "Tora Tora Tora" wasn't old stock footage. The aircraft used during the filming experienced an actual landing gear failure and the emergency landing was recorded by the film crew. Since no one was injured they decided to use the footage in the movie.
X006P TIL that as a child David Byrne was once mistaken for Norman Bates, which eventually inspired Byrne when creating the song 'Psycho Killer'
0wrA5 TIL The US Senate still uses a page system. A system where it employs underage boys to run around delivering messages. It even has its own special school the boys, so they can be free to work.