› added 6 years ago

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TIL that Ford almost bought Ferrari in the early 60's, but Enzo Ferrari killed the deal when he learned he wouldn't oversee the racing division anymore. Henry Ford II was so pissed that he directed his engineers to build a car that would beat Ferrari at Le Mans, which it did from 1966–1969.

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xVkV0 TIL in 1970 Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff of Pitkin Cty., CO and lost. His "Freak Power" program included disarming policemen, renaming Aspen "Fat City", punishing dishonest drug dealers, harassing those committing "land-rape" and limiting hunting and fishing to residents.
P145n TIL Lalla Fatma N'Soumer was an Algerian resistance fighter & leader who fought many battles against the colonizing French. The french called her 'Joan of Arc of Algeria'. She was later captured and died while in prison aged 32. She is an Algerian national hero & a symbol for women's empowerment.
1lZW TIL that Bell telephone could have made the internet back in the 1960s if their “picturephone” service had not flopped.
jNlQa TIL that Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph suffered immense personal tragedies, execution of his brother Maximilian in Mexico, suicide of his son and heir, murder of his wife and finally assassination of his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 that lead to WW1 and destruction of Habsburg Empire
e0llg TIL that Mr. Rogers went in front of the Senate to plead with them not to cut funding for PBS. Not only did he prevent the cut of funding, but he scored PBS an additional $20 million grant. He only talked for six minutes.