› added 10 years ago

225

TIL that when Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) announced Japan’s surrender on the radio (Aug. 15, 1945), it was the first time his voice was heard by the Japanese people

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

8aaj4 TIL that the Mormon church has a vault (able to withstand a nuclear attack) that stores genealogical history
wLKEW TIL an estimated one in fifty people suffer from Aphantasia, a condition in which the person’s “mind eye” is blind and they can’t picture things just by thinking about them
8ekmZ TIL a man named James Harrison had rare antigens for Rhesus disease. He donated plasma every week for 60 years and saved an estimated 2.4 million babies.
Mele0 TIL about Tom Sachs. An autistic NYC-based sculptor who, when needing money, would use his art tools and scraps to make crude improvised firearms in his studio to sell in the NYPD Buyback programs for up to $300 apiece.
n9OY TIL the welfare state was originally a right-wing invention by arch-conservative Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck hated socialism, but he wasn’t an ideologue. He figured out that if you don’t provide a minimum safety net to workers, they will be persuaded by the socialists.