1 Comment TIL that Mark Felt, who notoriously provided reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal under the pseudonym “Deep Throat”, was nearly nominated to serve as Acting Director of the FBI after the resignation of L. Patrick Gray in 1973. by whatilearned May 31, 2022, 3:28 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
2 Comments TIL that after becoming the first Black woman to argue at the U.S. Supreme Court, and winning 9 of 10 landmark civil rights cases, Constance Baker Motley became a U.S. Judicial Court judge and handed down a decision giving women sports reporters equal access to Major League Baseball locker rooms. by whatilearned February 13, 2022, 5:14 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL that in 1957, Philadelphia Phillies’ Richie Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands that struck spectator Alice Roth, a sports reporter’s wife, breaking her nose. When play resumed Ashburn fouled off another ball that struck her while she was being carried off in a stretcher. by whatilearned February 5, 2022, 11:19 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL that in 2014 when impoverished Ivory Coast cocoa farmers were asked what they were growing was made into, they didn’t know. The farmers knew cocoa was some type of food but they had never heard of or tasted chocolate until reporters brought them a chocolate bar to try. by whatilearned January 24, 2022, 11:41 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
6 Comments TIL that Jack Nicholson grew up believing his mother was actually his sister. His mom June was 17 years old and unmarried when she gave birth to him. Her parents agreed to raise Jack as their own child with June acting as his sister. Reporters from Time magazine revealed this to Jack in 1974. by whatilearned November 27, 2021, 4:33 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
1 Comment TIL that the Chinese army held an Olympics event for captured POWs in the Korean war, with 500 POWs from 11 countries participating. POWs also took roles as photographers, announcers and reporters. by whatilearned November 8, 2021, 9:43 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
An English bishop was visiting New York and had been warned about quote-hungry American reporters. by cringeyjokesman October 17, 2021, 6:36 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL NBC would occasionally add a fourth note to its chimes to notify reporters to immediately return to the office to prepare historic news reports. The fourth chime was most famously used during the nation’s D-Day reports, but was discontinued after WWII. by whatilearned September 14, 2021, 2:27 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL that no friends or family attended Lee Harvey Oswald’s funeral, so 7 of the reporters covering the funeral served as his pallbearers. by whatilearned August 14, 2021, 6:28 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
5 Comments TIL Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, but announced it in Latin. One reporter got the scoop and broke the story because she understood Latin. Most other reporters waited for official translations. by whatilearned May 30, 2021, 2:08 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
2 Comments TIL about The Uncensored Library, a project by Reporters Without Borders. Inside the library are articles by journalists who have been killed, jailed or exiled by governments. These articles can be viewed in the countries of those governments, bypassing these countries’ censorship by whatilearned April 20, 2021, 8:54 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
Jack Nicholson has not appeared on a talk show since 1971 by Cool Facts Guy March 26, 2019, 2:12 pm 0 Points Upvote Downvote
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