27 years imprisoned
Nelson Mandela was kept in prison for 27 years before his release on 11 February 1990.
Snapshot · The Rest Is History
682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6)
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Jun 24, 2026
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Juan Pujol faked 27 sub-agents
Juan Pujol García built a network of 27 entirely fictional sub-agents that Nazi Germany believed were real British spies, cementing his status as WWII's most valuable double agent.
Pujol won Iron Cross AND MBE
Juan Pujol García is the only person known to have received both the Iron Cross from Hitler and an MBE from the British Crown — awarded by two warring nations simultaneously.
Career-defining break in 1965
LaFontaine's voiceover career began by accident in 1965 when a scheduled voice actor didn't show, and he stepped in to record radio spots for MGM's 'Gunfighters of Casa Grande'.
Interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
LaFontaine is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the legendary LA burial ground previously covered in its own Stuff You Should Know episode.
Partnership with Stanley Kubrick's producer in 1962
LaFontaine's path to Hollywood began in 1962 when he partnered with radio producer Floyd Peterson, who was creating radio promos for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.
Rockefeller held 15¢ of every dollar
Dax notes that when Rockefeller became a billionaire, he reportedly controlled 15 cents of every dollar in the US economy — far greater wealth concentration than today's billionaires.
Last detained congressman: 1978 Leo Ryan
Khanna noted that the last time a US congressman was detained or shot at abroad was in 1978, when Leo Ryan was killed at Jonestown in Guyana.
Area 51 acknowledged in 2013
The US government did not formally acknowledge the existence or location of Area 51 until 2013, decades after it was established.
U-2 altitude: 70,000 ft
The U-2 spy plane could reach altitudes of 70,000 feet — 13 miles high — enabling it to photograph enemy territory while flying above most Soviet surface-to-air missiles.
