Rare Facts You Never Knew About Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, and she's still one of the most recognizable icons of American culture. However, behind the scenes, things weren't quite so easy for the starlet.

How much do you really know about the beautiful bombshell?

Norma Jean

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean, a name she held until she became famous. Her mother was named Gladys Pearl Baker, who had escaped a nine-year-long abusive marriage with a man named John Newton Baker. Baker took their two children to Kentucky, leaving Gladys totally alone. To combat this, Gladys remarried a man named Martin Edward Mortensen. 

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The More You Know

  • The Nobel Committee declined to award the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948 because "there was no suitable living candidate." This was meant as tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated earlier that year without receiving the Prize.
  • Mount Rushmore cost less than $1 million.
  • After Hitler ordered the deportation of Denmark's Jewish population, Danish citizens organized a massive evacuation of the Jews to neutral Sweden, despite the risks. In the end, 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust.
  • Your brain is sometimes more active when you're asleep than when you're awake.
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