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TIL the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade originally featured live animals from the Central Park Zoo, but they occasionally roared and scared children, so they were replaced with balloons.

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YpJEW TIL The Aztecs routinely sacrificed children to their God of Rain, Tlaloc. They believed their tears would bring rain, so they sometimes tortured them to make them cry more, even taking out their nails. Parents saw it as an honour for their children to be sacrificed.
nePEP TIL that Muammar Gaddafi has a bisexual professional footballer son, who hired Diego Maradona as a consultant, played for teams in Italy’s first division, captained Libya, bribed referees, made sure stadium announcers in Libya only announced his name, did a lot of cocaine, and had an Interpol notice
Qv7E TIL As a joke, Pablo Escobar asked one of his men to bring him a cup of coffee and quietly popped an Alka-Seltzer. Escobar accused his bodyguard of poisoning him and ordered his men to tie the man up and point a machine gun at him for ten minutes while he begged for his life
9wZw7 TIL of Gabe Sonnier, a man who started off as a janitor in a Louisiana elementary school until one day in 1985, when he was inspired by the then-principal to take up teaching. Gabe was 39 years old when he started studying for a teaching degree. He’s now the principal of that elementary school.
xje0 TIL Vin Diesel is a huge Dungeons and Dragons fan, having played for more than 20 years. So much so that he even wrote the forward to Thirty Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons and Dragons.