› added 7 years ago

2040

TIL there is a conspiracy theory which claims The United States is a corporation, not a country.

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OobLX TIL of a persistent rumour that at 350lbs, President Taft (1909-1913) got stuck in the White House bath tub. However, he actually installed his own tub, big enough to fit 4 regular sized men in it. It remained in the White House until 1952
nep1P TIL that the term "teetotaler" came from the abbreviation "T.A.", for Total Abstinence. This was written on pledge cards in temperance societies, proclaiming that you were abstaining from alcohol rather than just drinking in moderation.
pY8Kb TIL of Operation Looking Glass, the code name for an airborne US command and control centre that would take charge of the response if all US ground bases were lost due to nuclear war. They started with 5 Boeing KC-135's and a plane was in the air 24/7, 365 days a year, for nearly 30 years.
b9dV9 TIL that 18-yr old rich socialite Ginevra King, in love with Scott Fitzgerald, wrote & sent him a Gatsby-like short story. In it, she is trapped in a loveless marriage with a wealthy man yet still pines for him, a former lover from her past. 7 yr later this became the outline for 'The Great Gatsby'
69GpQ TIL that the 25 day long 1990 Strangeways Prison Riot was the longest ever British prison riot, started in protest against overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, guard brutality, and the misuse of drugs.