Living in the digital age also means learning something new every time you go online. It’s all thanks to resources like the Inside History Instagram page, an account dedicated to providing random trivia.
With over three and a half million followers, it has tidbits of information about life, entertainment, current events, and history from all eras.
We’ve compiled a list of noteworthy images from the page. Scroll through them, and you might find an excellent conversation starter.
#1
Over the years, Dale accumulated quite a few Social Security checks he never cashed. What Dale really wanted to do with the money was provide kids with an opportunity he never had — to go to college. What he thought to be several hundred thousand dollars turned out to be almost $3 million and was distributed it to people rather than institutions.
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358points
#3
Frank Sinatra was a fervent anti-racist and an early activist during the civil rights movement.
He refused to stay at hotels and play at clubs that did not admit Black people. His band would also provide equal pay and treatment for Black musicians. It was through his relentless and tireless efforts that Las Vegas quickly became integrated.
In an interview in 2016, Frank Sinatra, Jr. had this to say about his father:
“In the days when Las Vegas began to become popular, the Black performers could play in showrooms, but they couldn't stay in the hotel. And it was Frank Sinatra who went to the board of directors, who had rather shady pasts, and he said, 'Are you guys going to come into the twentieth century, or aren't you?'... Somebody said 'Well, we have white people, we have Black people." Sinatra, the story goes, said to them, "The money is green. How about that?" And they began to look at each other and the wheels were turning, and because of Sammy [Davis], Las Vegas became integrated.”
Sinatra was also a big-time supporter of Martin Luther King and helped him raise money to support the Civil Rights Movement by headlining fundraisers. In 1958, he wrote in Ebony Magazine: “A friend to me has no race, no class and belongs to no minority. My friendships are formed out of affection, mutual respect and a feeling of having something in common. These are eternal values that cannot be classified.”
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304points
Because of the abundance of interesting facts, the Inside Story Instagram page will likely leave you entertained for a while. Behavioral psychologist Dr. Susan Weinschenk explains it by pointing to a chemical in our brains that is present in our daily lives.
“Dopamine causes you to want, desire, seek out, and search,” Dr. Weinschenk wrote in an article for Psychology Today. “It increases your general level of arousal and your goal-directed behavior. Dopamine makes you curious about ideas and fuels your searching for information.”
#4
This is 6-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted by U.S. Marshals to school in 1960. She was the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South.
For her first day, federal marshals with guns had to escort Bridges to and from school through a crowd of grown men and women shouting the n word, spitting on her, making death threats against her and her family and waving Confederate flags. They even carried a small coffin with a black baby doll inside, which caused Ruby to have nightmares at the time.
In her classroom, all her classmates were either withdrawn by white parents or abandoned the class refusing to sit with her. She refused to eat any food that wasn’t prepackaged for and sealed because they threatened to poison her.
Nearly all the teachers abandoned the school except for one, by the name of Barbara Henry. For a whole year, it was just Barbara teaching Ruby in an empty classroom. “I had never seen a white teacher before, but Mrs. Henry was the nicest teacher I ever had. She tried very hard to keep my mind off what was going on outside. But I couldn’t forget that there were no other kids,” said Ruby.
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299points
#5
One of the saddest chapters in history.
George Stinney Jr. was the youngest person sentenced to death in the United States. He was only 14 when he was executed by electric chair in 1944.
During his trial, until the day of his execution, he always carried a Bible in his hands, claiming for innocence. He was accused of killing two white girls, Betty of 11-years-old and Mary of 7, the bodies were found near the house where the boy resided with his parents.
At that time, all the jurors were white. The trial lasted only 2 hours and the sentence was handed down 10 minutes later. The boy’s parents were not allowed in the court room, and was subsequently expelled from that city after the trial.
Before the execution, George spent 81 days in prison without being able to see his parents, he was held in solitary 80 miles from the city, he was held alone without anybody to talk to. He was heard alone without the presence of his parents or a lawyer.
He was electrocuted with 5,380 volts in the head.
70 years later, his innocence was finally proven by a judge in South Carolina. The beam with which the two girls were killed, weighed more than 19.07 kilograms. Therefore, it was impossible for Stinney to be able to lift it, let alone be able to hit hard enough to kill the two girls.
Stephen King was inspired by this case to write his book The Green Mile, which was taken to theaters in
1999. May his innocent soul rest in peace.
1999. May his innocent soul rest in peace.
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281points
#6
IN 1922, CHILDREN WERE INJECTED WITH INSULIN, ONE BY ONE, ALL OF THEM AWOKE FROM THEIR COMAS
In 1922, a group of scientists went to the #Toronto General Hospital where diabetic children were kept in wards, often 50 or more at a time. Most of them were comatose and dying from diabetic keto-acidosis. Others were being treated by being placed on an extremely strict diet, which inevitably led to starvation. These children were essentially in their death beds, awaiting what was at the time, certain death. The scientists moved swiftly and proceeded to inject the children with a new purified extract of insulin. As they began to inject the last comatose child, the first one to be injected began to wake up. Then one by one, all the children awoke from their diabetic comas. A room that was full of death and gloom, suddenly became a place of joy and hope. In the early #1920s, Fredrick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin under John Macleod at the University of Toronto. With the help of James Collip, insulin was purified, making it available to successfully treat diabetes. Both Banting and Macleod earned Nobel Prizes for their work in 1923. In the same year, Banting, Collip, and Best decided to sell the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for $1. Banting famously went on to say, “Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.”
In 1922, a group of scientists went to the #Toronto General Hospital where diabetic children were kept in wards, often 50 or more at a time. Most of them were comatose and dying from diabetic keto-acidosis. Others were being treated by being placed on an extremely strict diet, which inevitably led to starvation. These children were essentially in their death beds, awaiting what was at the time, certain death. The scientists moved swiftly and proceeded to inject the children with a new purified extract of insulin. As they began to inject the last comatose child, the first one to be injected began to wake up. Then one by one, all the children awoke from their diabetic comas. A room that was full of death and gloom, suddenly became a place of joy and hope. In the early #1920s, Fredrick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin under John Macleod at the University of Toronto. With the help of James Collip, insulin was purified, making it available to successfully treat diabetes. Both Banting and Macleod earned Nobel Prizes for their work in 1923. In the same year, Banting, Collip, and Best decided to sell the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for $1. Banting famously went on to say, “Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.”
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261points
There is a condition called information addiction, in which we seek and consume information regardless of its value. Experts like Berkeley professor Dr. Ming Hsu compare it to the consumption of unhealthy snacks.
“To the brain, information is its own reward, above and beyond whether it’s useful,” he said. “And just as our brains like empty calories from junk food, they can overvalue information that makes us feel good but may not be useful — what some may call idle curiosity.”
#7
This is such a powerful photo. It was taken in April, 1945 by Major Clarence Benjamin and shows a train of Jewish prisoners that had been intercepted by Allied Forces. This is the moment they learned that the train would not be heading to a concentration camp and they had been liberated.
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260points
#8
He was also the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States
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253points
Dr. Hsu conducted several studies to explore a person’s natural appetite for all types of information. Based on his findings, here’s his explanation.
“We were able to demonstrate for the first time the existence of a common neural code for information and money, which opens the door to a number of exciting questions about how people consume, and sometimes overconsume, information.”
#10
For a small amount of perspective at this moment, imagine you were born in 1900. When you are 14, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday with 22 million people killed. Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until you are 20. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million.
When you're 29, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25%, global GDP drops 27%. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy. When you turn 39, World War II starts. You aren’t even over the hill yet.
When you're 41, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthday, 75 million people perish in the war and the Holocaust kills twelve million. At 52, the Korean War starts and five million perish.
At 64 the Vietnam War begins, and it doesn’t end for many years. Four million people die in that conflict. Approaching your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, could well have ended. Great leaders prevented that from happening.
As you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends. Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How do you survive all of that? A kid in 1985 didn’t think their 85 year old grandparent understood how hard school was. Yet those grandparents (and now great grandparents) survived through everything listed above.
Perspective is an amazing art. As #2022 ends, let’s try and keep things in perspective. Let’s be smart, help each other out, and we will get through all of this. In the history of the world, there has never been a storm that lasted. This too, shall pass.
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215points
#11
This is 18-year-old Alice Roosevelt and her long-haired Chihuahua named Leo in 1902. She also had a pet snake named Emily #Spinach who she would wrap around on one arm and take to parties.
Alice was extremely independent and unlike many women of her time, she was known to wear pants, drive cars, smoke cigarettes, place bets with bookies, dance on rooftops, and party all night. In a span of 15 months, she managed to attend 300 parties, 350 balls and 407 dinners.
A friend of Alice’s stepmom once remarked that she was “like a young wild animal that had been put into good clothes.” Her stepmom went a step further and described her as a “guttersnipe” that went “uncontrolled with every boy in town.”
William Howard Taft banned her from the White House after Alice buried a voodoo doll (of Taft’s wife) in the front yard. Woodrow Wilson also banned her after she told a very dirty joke (sadly no record of the joke exists) about him in public.
Her father, Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both.” Alice once told President Lyndon B. Johnson that she specifically wore wide-brimmed hats around him so that he could not kiss her.
During an interview in 1974, Alice described herself as a “hedonist.” She died in 1980 at the age of 96.
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196points
People are quickly drawn to sensationalized article titles, otherwise known as clickbait. According to Dr. Hsu, this is also something innate in humans, likely due to the expectation of some benefit.
“The way our brains respond to the anticipation of a pleasurable reward is an important reason why people are susceptible to clickbait.”
#13
A beloved McDonalds worker with Down’s syndrome has retired after 32 years in the job.
Russell O’Grady, 50, first came to the restaurant in 1984 on a work experience placement organized by Jobsupport, an Australian government initiative that helps people with intellectual disabilities find paid employment, when he was 18-years-old.
He was given a permanent role after the restaurant at Northmead, in Sydney‘s west, recognized his commitment and work ethic.
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189points
#14
A #Turkish homeowner chasing his chickens through a hole in his basement during renovations came across an abandoned underground Turkish city that once housed 20,000 people.
In an effort to recapture his escaping poultry, the man knocked down the wall in the #1960s to reveal a dark tunnel leading to the ancient city of Elengubu, known today as Derinkuyu.
Derinkuyu, burrowed more than 280 feet beneath the Central Anatolian region of Cappadocia, is the largest excavated underground city in the world and has 18 levels of tunnels containing dwellings, dry food storage, cattle stables, schools, wineries, and even a chapel.
The exact date the impressive city was built remains contested, but ancient writings dating back to 370 BC indicate Derinkuyu was in existence.
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#15
Refusing to do the Nazi salute, 1936.
The man was later identified to be August Landmesser who joined the Nazi Party in 1931, believing that in doing so would help him land a job during a poor economy. However, in 1934, as fate would have it, Landmesser fell in love with a Jewish woman named Irma Eckler.
A year later, they became engaged but their marriage application was denied by newly enacted Nuremberg Laws, which prohibited marriages between Jews and non-Jews. This, however, did not deter them from having children, and Eckler gave birth to their first daughter, Ingrid, in 1935.
Two years later, Landmesser and his wife and daughter attempted to flee Germany to Denmark but were apprehended by authorities. Landmesser was charged with “dishonoring the race” under Nazi racial law, but was later acquitted due to lack of evidence and was just ordered to end his relationship with Eckler with the warning that a repeat offense would result in a multi-year prison sentence.
However, he refused to abandon his wife and was eventually arrested again in 1938. This time he was sentenced to hard labor for 3 years at a concentration camp. It was the last time he would see his wife and daughter.
Eckler was sent to prison where she gave birth to their second daughter, Irene. From there, she was sent to a concentration camp where she was eventually murdered in 1942.
Landmesser was released from his duties in 1941 and was eventually drafted to fight against the Allies. He was sent on the most dangerous missions due to his “criminal past.” He was killed-in-action in Croatia in 1944. His body was never recovered.
The two daughters were placed with foster parents and survived the war.
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159points
There are ways to combat information addiction, and breaking habits is one effective step. Author and Zen Habits creator Leo Babauta has some tips, beginning with habit replacement.
“Pick something positive and fun that you can do in 5 minutes every time your most common trigger happens,” he wrote on his website. “That might be: reading a few pages of a novel, journaling, doing pushups, taking a walk, drinking water, meditating, writing, painting, practicing a language, writing a letter with paper and pen, etc.”
#17
In 1941, the photo on the left was taken of Soviet soldier Eugen Stepanovich Kobytev on the day he left to go to war. The photo on the right was taken in 1945 after the end of the war, just 4 years apart.
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Pressure can sometimes compel a person to act accordingly. For Babauta, it’s also a form of taking accountability for your actions.
“Tell everyone you know that you’re not going to check Facebook (for example) within 15 minutes of starting an important work task,” he wrote.
#20
Abraham Lincoln in 1860 vs. 1865. Before and after the Civil War.
Many people believed Abraham Lincoln was ugly, including himself. Once, when he was accused of being “two-faced” during a debate, he replied, “If I had two faces, would I be showing you this one?”
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132points