› added 12 years ago

167

TIL in a 2010 poll seventy-nine percent of Democrats said they support permitting “gay men and lesbians” to serve openly in the armed forces but only 43 percent, said they were in favor of allowing “homosexuals” to serve openly.

Read more thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

via reddit.com

VB1Am TIL that in 1984, the Japanese Army Veterans Association, in an attempt to refute wartime atrocities, interviewed former WWII soldiers. Instead of denial, the soldiers freely admitted and described atrocities committed, resulting in the association publishing an apology the following year.
nrOo TIL Paul Hogan (the actor of “Crocodile Dundee”) lost $32 million because when he wanted to hide his money in offshore tax havens his tax adviser duped him. His money lies untouched in Switzerland since the 1980s
nEX9 TIL Samuel L. Jackson overcame a stuttering problem as a child by developing an affinity for using the word “motherfucker” in his vocabulary
LkD0d TIL the Deep Note, also known as the "THX Note", was designed and synthesized in 1983 by James A. Moorer after 2 years of development using a 19" rack full of digital hardware. It is perceived as much louder than it is due to the large number of overlapping voices - the original version has 30.
awNn9 TIL Billionaire Howard Hughes was badly injured in a plane crash in 1946. Unsatisfied with his hospital bed, Hughes had a team of engineers design a custom bed comprised of six sections, operated by 30 electric motors with push-button adjustments- this became a prototype for the modern hospital bed.