People & Society

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

People & Society Martin Luther King Jr. started a pillow fight in the hotel room with other civil rights leaders in the hour before he was assassinated May 4, 2019
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People & Society In 1981, a California doctor worked around the clock to save the life of a (3.2 lb) premature baby boy. Exactly 30 years later, that baby (now a Paramedic/Firefighter) saved the life of the doctor when a semi struck his car. May 3, 2019
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People & Society Canadians say sorry so much that a law had to be passed saying that apologies aren't admissions of guilt. May 1, 2019
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People & Society For four years, Hugh Grant pretended to be his own talent agent under the name James Howe Ealy. He communicated with people via a fake email account and even disguised his voice with a Scottish accent on the phone. "I saved myself an absolute fortune," he said. April 26, 2019
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People & Society Light bulbs in the New York City subway system screw in "backwards" (i.e. with left-handed threads) so people won't steal them to use at home. April 22, 2019
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People & Society The likely record for fastest manmade object is a manhole cover launched by a nuclear bomb. A high-speed camera recording the lid only caught one frame of it moving meaning it was traveling over 125,000 miles per hour April 21, 2019
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People & Society Meet Randy, the Guinea Pig that broke into the female enclosure at his Zoo, and impregnated around 100 females in 2014. He then became a father of around 400 babies. April 20, 2019
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People & Society Victor Hugo wrote the Hunchback of Norte-Dame to inform people of the value of Gothic architecture, which was being neglected and destroyed at the time. This explains the large descriptive sections of the book, which far exceed the requirements of the story. April 16, 2019
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People & Society In 1962 two US scientists discovered Peru's highest mountain was in danger of collapsing. When this was made public, the government threatened the scientists and banned civilians from speaking of it. In 1970, during a major earthquake, it collapsed on the town of Yangoy killing 20,000. April 14, 2019
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People & Society Principal Akbar Cook installed a free fully-stocked laundry room at school because students with dirty clothes were bullied and missing 3-5 days of school per month. Attendance rose 10%. April 8, 2019
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People & Society Breakfast wasn't regarded as the most important meal of the day until an aggressive marketing campaign by General Mills in 1944. They would hand out leaflets to grocery store shoppers urging them to eat breakfast, while similar ads would play on the radio. April 7, 2019
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People & Society Check out May Bradford, a Red Cross volunteer during WWI who wrote over 25,000 letters and notes, an average of 12 a day, for wounded soldiers who were too ill or too uneducated to write to their family. She also sat with the injured and dying and considered herself to be a surrogate mother to them. April 4, 2019
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People & Society In high school, with his imposing physique and creepy mustache, most Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson's classmates thought he was an undercover cop. April 4, 2019
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People & Society There was a girl nicknamed Sober Sue, who was offered worked at a theatre that would offer $1,000 to anyone that could make her laugh. All summer people tried to make her laugh, even professional comedians came onto the show, none of which prevailed. Sober Sue had facial paralysis. April 3, 2019
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People & Society How Did Marie Curie Attend College? April 3, 2019
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People & Society Mick Jagger has a great-grandchild that is older than his youngest child. April 2, 2019
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People & Society Aretha Franklin required that she would be paid, in cash, prior to any performance, often carrying the money in a bag, on stage during the show. March 30, 2019
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People & Society Morgan Freeman wears his earrings because they are just worth enough to pay for a coffin in case he dies in a strange place. March 29, 2019
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People & Society Taylor Swift was born into wealth. Her father is "from three generations of bank presidents" and worked for Merrill Lynch. At the age of 14 her family moved to Nashville where her father purchased a stake in Big Machine, the label to which Swift first signed. March 29, 2019
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People & Society Rapper J. Cole graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA, accepted a scholarship to St. Johns University, was the president of a pan-African student coalition in college, and graduated with a magna cum laude in communication and business. March 19, 2019
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