› added 7 years ago

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TIL Lyndon B Johnson worked 18-20 hour days without breaks and had no leisure activities. He also smoked heavily, knew every senators' ambitions, hopes, and tastes were and used it to his advantage in securing votes. And was the "[most] powerful majority leader in American history" as a congressman.

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lobrA TIL of Gabriele Gast, an East German spy who was a high-ranking West German intelligence officer. She spied to continue seeing her lover in East Germany and was never paid for her spy work. However, she later learned that her lover was a professional Stasi seducer who strung her along for 20 years.
b9jDZ TIL Brazilian priest, Father Adelir Antonio de Carli, died after he floated out over the ocean suspended by hundreds of helium-filled party balloons and crashed into the ocean
9GOB TIL the Japanese military ran human experiments in China, including organ removal, blood loss, being burnt alive, forced pregnancy followed by vivisection, all without anesthesia. The US gave immunity to those involved in exchange for the data. Many doctors had successful postwar careers. [NSFW]
rNdje TIL in the year following D.B. Cooper hijacking and bailing out of an airliner, a rash of copycat hijackings occurred. Each demanded money and parachutes. Some even managed to bail out, just like Cooper. All were caught, and more stringent safety measures were adopted by airlines and airports.
8emK TIL - Last time a president tried to cut PBS funding, a humble man came to its defense. People in the room started to tear up and actually cry.