In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
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Sales of the Guy Fawkes mask - used by protesters all over the world as a symbol of their fight against government corruption and corporate power - all go to Time Warner.
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Of all things, Andrew Jackson's tombstone does not mention that he served as the president of the United States!
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There was a pre-WWII movement called Technocracy, which held that scientists and engineers should take over the government and economy from politicians and economists. The leader of the movement was known as the Great Engineer.
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Daniel Webster, who ran for president and lost three times, declined the Vice Presidency twice, thinking it a worthless office. Both presidents who offered it later died in office, meaning that if he had accepted, he would’ve become president after all.
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In 2005, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, insulted Finnish cuisine and joked that Finns ate “marinated reindeer”. In 2008, Finland won an international pizza contest, beating Italy. The name of the winning pizza was “Pizza Berlusconi” and it was made of smoked reindeer.
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John F. Kennedy ordered over 1,000 Cuban cigars for personal use just hours before he made them illegal.
4
Former U.S. Congressman John Jenrette once had sex with his wife on the steps of the Capitol Building during a break in a late night Congressional session.
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