by Maasanova

When I was quite young, I was encouraged by my parents to read as much as I could and was given many books. One Christmas I was given a gigantic, unabridged dictionary-sized book called "The Big Book of Facts." It was a children's book filled with all sorts of common as well as lesser known facts about a variety of topics such as the animal kingdom, history, sports and health. I would read it over and over in hopes that I would find something new that I had previously missed, or skipped over.

While my interest in discovering new facts isn't as insatiable as it used to be, I'll occasionally go on the hunt for topics that are more esoteric in nature. On one of these excursions, I came across a brilliant site called the Memory Hole managed by author Russ Kick, also the author of "50 Things You Aren't Supposed To Know." The Memory Hole is, of course, named after the slot in which inconvenient government documents could be destroyed in the book "1984." The Memory Hole website is chocked-full of declassified government documents, embarrassing photographs and web pages that were expunged from government and corporate websites. A visit to to this most excellent website is highly recommended.

Click on the link below to begin reading Russ Kick's "50 Things You Aren't Supposed To Know."

50 Things You Aren't Supposed To Know


The 10 Commandments We Always See Aren't the 10 Commandments

One of the Popes Wrote an Erotic Book

The CIA Commits Over 100,000 Serious Crimes Each Year

The First CIA Agent to Die in the Line of Duty Was Douglas Mackiernan

After 9/11, the Defense Department Wanted to Poison Afghanistan's Food Supply

The US Government Lies About the Number of Terrorism Convictions It Obtains

The US Is Planning to Provoke Terrorist Attacks

The US and Soviet Union Considered Detonating Nuclear Bombs on the Moon

Two Atomic Bombs Were Dropped on North Carolina

World War III Almost Started in 1995

The Korean War Never Ended

Agent Orange Was Used in Korea

Kent State Wasn't the Only—or Even the First—Massacre of College Students During the Vietnam Era

Winston Churchill Believed in a Worldwide Jewish Conspiracy

The Auschwitz Tattoo Was Originally an IBM Code Number

Adolph Hitler's Blood Relatives Are Alive and Well in New York State

Around One Quarter of "Witches" Were Men

The Virginia Colonists Practiced Cannibalism

Many of the Pioneering Feminists Opposed Abortion

Black People Served in the Confederate Army

Electric Cars Have Been Around Since the 1880s

Juries Are Allowed to Judge the Law, Not Just the Facts

The Police Aren't Legally Obligated to Protect You

The Government Can Take Your House and Land, Then Sell Them to Private Corporations

The Supreme Court Has Ruled That You're Allowed to Ingest Any Drug, Especially If You're an Addict

The Age of Consent in Most of the US Is Not Eighteen

Most Scientists Don't Read All of the Articles They Cite

Louis Pasteur Suppressed Experiments That Didn't Support His Theories

The Creator of the GAIA Hypothesis Supports Nuclear Power

Genetically-Engineered Humans Have Already Been Born

The Insurance Industry Wants to Genetically Test All Policy Holders

Smoking Causes Problems Other Than Lung Cancer and Heart Disease

Herds of Milk-Producing Cows Are Rife With Bovine Leukemia Virus

Most Doctors Don't Know the Radiation Level of CAT Scans

Medication Errors Kill Thousands Each Year

Prescription Drugs Kill Over 100,000 Annually

Work Kills More People Than War

The Suicide Rate Is Highest Among the Elderly

For Low-Risk People, a Positive Result from an HIV Test Is Wrong Half the Time

DNA Matching Is Not Infallible

An FBI Expert Testified That Lie Detectors Are Worthless for Security Screening

The Bayer Company Made Heroin

LSD Has Been Used Successfully in Psychiatric Therapy

Carl Sagan Was an Avid Pot-Smoker

One of the Heroes of Black Hawk Down Is a Convicted Child Molester

The Auto Industry Says That SUV Drivers Are Selfish and Insecure

The Word "Squaw" Is Not a Derisive Term for the Vagina

You Can Mail Letters for Little or No Cost

Advertisers' Influence on the News Media Is Widespread

The World's Museums Contain Innumerable Fakes