› added 11 years ago

277

TIL in 1995 drug giant GlaxoSmithKline gathered over one hundred black and hispanic orphans, including toddlers and babies, to test the “toxicity” of their AIDS medication on them. They continued to do this for nearly ten years.

Rkn8 TIL that composer Charles Ives proposed that a 20th Amendment should be added to the U.S. Constitution that allowed people to submit legislative proposals to Congress. Members of Congress would then cull the proposals, selecting 10 each year as referendums for popular vote by the nation’s electorate
W7ZZX TIL that in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore, Santa's reindeer were Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem. He later changed Blixem to Blitzen, but Dunder didn't become Donner until well after his death.
jWlj TIL 85% of outlet clothing is made with lower-quality fabrics and cheaper construction than its retail counterpart. Companies like Levis, Ralph Lauren and Nordstrom have all been sued for having MSRP on their “Compare At” price tags even though the product never saw the inside of a flagship store.
AN6pd TIL: The "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" was declassified in 2008 and it contains advice on how spies can sabotage the enemy by just being maliciously incompetent. Advice include praising inefficient coworkers, cry and sob frequently at work, asking inane questions in meetings, and spreading gossip.
5Yp6D TIL during the Tokyo housing bubble in the 1980s, the combined housing value for all properties in Japan was worth four to five times that of the United States, and fifty percent higher than that of the rest of the world.