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TIL of “Fritz the Cat,” a 1972 adult animated feature that was the first to ever receive an X rating and became the highest grossing independent animated feature of all time.

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Eg8bX TIL that the phrase Under Pressure comes from “peine forte et dure”, a 13th century practice that entailed pressing an accused with heavy weights until they agreed to enter a plea. At the time, rather than plead guilty or innocent to charges you could stand mute in the face of accusations
NXpkP TIL An estimated 10 to 15 percent of abducted Africans died on their way to the coast from the interior during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Historians also estimate that between 15 and 25 percent of the enslaved Africans bound for the Americas died aboard slave ships.
N7eMb TIL Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, found his costume boots so uncomfortable that he wore slippers during many of his scenes, leading many scenes being filmed shin up or higher.
M7E7b TIL that in 1800, the U.S. birthrate was higher than in any European nation. The typical woman bore 7 children, starting around age 23 and continuing in two-year intervals until menopause. Had this pattern continued, the U.S. population would have reached 2 billion by 1990.
8awmG TIL the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA was started in 1890 as a way to convince East Coast residents to move to California by "showcasing California's mild weather" by proving the "flowers are still blooming and oranges are about to bear."