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.
6
John F. Kennedy was buried without his brain after it was lost during the autopsy!
96
In 1916, a US amendment was proposed to put all acts of war to a national vote. If you voted yes you would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army.
6
In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
3
In ancient Athens, the worlds first democracy, they had a process called ostracism, where once a year the people could vote on the politician they thought was most destructive to the democratic process. The “winner” was banished from Athens for 10 years.
2
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.
4
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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