People & Society

Fascinating facts about remarkable people, human culture, psychology, and society.

People & Society Eight years after JFK's assassination, Jackie Kennedy avoided the public unveiling of their White House portraits, but the Nixons graciously agreed to a secret, private tour for her and her kids. It was her only return visit. February 6, 2021
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People & Society Meet the California Genocide, an oft-forgotten event in U.S. history due to occurring at the same time at the California Gold Rush. The Native American population of California decreased from as many as 150,000 in 1848 to 30,000 in 1870. Tribes such as the Yahi were hunted to extinction. January 31, 2021
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People & Society People in the US got free flights by buying money from the government. People would buy 1$ coins in bulk from the US mint (free shipping) and pay off their credit card bill with the coins. They would buy the coins with credit cards that awarded frequent flyer miles, thus getting them free miles. January 31, 2021
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People & Society George Foreman has earned substantially more from the George Foreman Grill than he ever did from his boxing career. At the peak of sales he earned $4.5 million a month in payouts. In 1999, he was paid $138 million for the full rights to use his name. January 30, 2021
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People & Society Swearing emerges by age two and becomes adult-like by ages 11 or 12. By the time children enter school, they have a working vocabulary of 30-40 offensive words. January 29, 2021
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People & Society Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in the southerns states, then returned again and again to rescue 70 more enslaved people. Then later, after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, she helped guide fugitives farther north into Canada. During the American Civil War she helped the Union Army. January 26, 2021
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People & Society When France increased the price of cigarettes by 66% over an eight-year period, the smoking rate among French executives and professionals declined. However, the smoking rate among manual laborers remained about the same and among the unemployed, it increased. January 25, 2021
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People & Society At the peak of the financial crisis of 2008 Volkswagen became the most valuable company in the world for one day despite being on the brink of bankruptcy January 22, 2021
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People & Society A school principal once made a student who'd gotten into trouble sit in the basement & read the U.S. Constitution as punishment. That student (who committed the Constitution to memory as a result) was Thurgood Marshall, who went on to become the first Black Supreme Court justice. January 19, 2021
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People & Society A Joyful Night: How Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt Changed the World with a Simple Flight January 5, 2021
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People & Society The statement "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" is often falsely attributed to Voltaire. It actually originated from an essay by Kevin Alfred Storm in 1993. December 22, 2020
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People & Society Who Was The Architect To The Stars? December 21, 2020
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People & Society Edgar Allen Poe died mysteriously after having been missing for six days. Though still alive when he was finally found, he was wearing someone else's cheap clothes and not coherent enough to tell where he'd been. He had disappeared en route to his own wedding. December 10, 2020
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People & Society When President Gerald Ford wanted to end a conversation in the Oval Office he would signal Liberty, his golden retriever, and she would go to the guest wagging her tail, creating a natural break. December 8, 2020
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People & Society Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin Roosevelt I was a pilot in World War I and was killed in France during combat. He is the only child of a US President to die in combat December 1, 2020
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People & Society Michelangelo hid under the Medici Chapel in Florence for 3 months during a period of political turmoil, occupying his time by sketching on the walls with charcoal. His whereabouts were a secret for almost 500 years until the museum director stumbled upon the drawings in 1976. December 1, 2020
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People & Society Meet Susan Butcher, a New England girl whose only goal in life was to win the Alaskan Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race which she ultimately won 4 times with record times and became one the greatest mushers of all time November 22, 2020
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People & Society The song 'Rapture' by Blondie (1981) was the first single featuring a rap to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie, has said many rappers, including the Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep, told her it was the first rap song they ever heard. November 20, 2020
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People & Society Due to a strong dislike towards mixing of science and politics, Einstein said were he a young man again, he'd choose to be a plumber or a peddler, to which many plumbing companies responded by making him the honorary plumber. Also, there are many Einstein Plumbing companies in the US now. November 20, 2020
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People & Society Comcast changed their brand from "Comcast Internet" to "Xfinity" because the comcast name had become associated with poor quality and service. The name change decision was made after a Comcast technician was recorded while sleeping on a customer's couch. November 20, 2020
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