› added 12 years ago

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TIL that there was a hobbyist photographer who took tens of thousands of pictures in the 50s, mostly in Chicago. She never showed them to anyone or even bothered to develop them and she remained unknown until her death. Now she is considered one of the most important street photographers ever.

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mxjay TIL Jimmy Carter called Egyptian president Sadat’s assassination in 1981 “one of the worst days of my life.” Carter knew Sadat's successsor, Mubarak, quite well. Decades later, Carter became disappointed and stopped speaking to Mubarak after he stayed in power too long
XDg6 TIL that after many publishers claimed the original Harry Potter novel “was too long for a children’s book”, Nigel Newton, chairman of Bloomsbury Publishing agreed to read it as a favor, but tossed it to the side, only for his 8 year-old daughter to find it, read it, and demand more.
pg74 TIL that the idea that the federal government can regulate almost any business was established in a 1942 Supreme Court case. Since a farmer could theoretically sell produce over state lines, the US government had the authority to control what he could grow.
KY8AQ TIL about the Ryukyu Kingdom, a sovereign state composed of Ryukyu islands (including Okinawa) which only officialy became part of Japan in 1879.
M7VK0 TIL that Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (zombie-ant fungus) has its own fungal hyperparasite sometimes referred to as the "anti zombie-fungus fungus" which limits its effect on ant colonies