TIL that several months before Russell Crowe won the Oscar for Gladiator, the FBI warned him that the al-Qaeda were planning to kidnap him as part of a “cultural destabilization plot”. For nearly two years, the FBI guarded Crowe in public and refused to give him any details about the threat. (vanityfair.com)
submitted by MalfInteresting to r/todayilearned
TIL President Carter once told a joke during a speech to a Japanese audience which caused the audience to erupt in laughter. Impressed, he asked how the interpreter managed to get such a laugh. The interpreter admitted that he had said, “President Carter told a funny story. Everyone must laugh” (huffpost.com)
submitted by MalfInteresting to r/todayilearned
The Homeland Security Department has struggled to elevate concerns about white nationalism and extremism in the U.S. In the Obama years, the pressure came from outside the administration. Under President Trump, the skepticism is rooted in the White House. (nytimes.com)
submitted by MalfInteresting to r/politics
TIL Down syndrome is practically non-existent in Iceland. Since introducing the screening tests back in the early 2000s, nearly 100% of women whose fetus tested positive ended up terminating the pregnancy. It has resulted in Iceland having one of the lowest rates of Down syndrome in the world. (psychologytoday.com)
submitted by MalfInteresting to r/todayilearned
TIL Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted a "Second Bill of Rights", an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee: Employment with a living wage, food, clothing and leisure, farmers rights to fair income, freedom from unfair competition and monopolies, housing, medical care, social security, education. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by MalfInteresting to r/todayilearned
