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TIL: "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex is based on a classic American folk song with a history dating back to before the American Civil War. The earliest known recordings are from the 1920s and it's been recorded numerous times since then, including a beautiful version by Nina Simone (link in the comments)

xBOD TIL that in 2004 a Texas man was put to death for killing his family in an arson attack. The jailhouse snitch has admitted he lied, and top scientists/investigators have not been able to find any reason to think the house fire was anything other than a freak accident.
4Xg7X TIL Pornhub has a branch of their network called “Pornhub Cares” where they focus on humanitarian efforts. Some of their causes are breast and testicular cancer research, planting trees, and funding student college scholarships.
1R9d TIL Martha Stewart broke up with Anthony Hopkins after seeing him in “Silence of the Lambs”. She was unable to avoid associating Hopkins with Hannibal Lecter.
N7gW8 TIL that until 2013, Shark Tank required 5% equity of all companies - just to pitch in the show. Lawyers at ABC later changed the requirement after Mark Cuban gave them an ultimatum — remove the equity clause or "I'm not coming back."
negro TIL For his Hitler biograpahy, Peter Longerich employed the diaries of Goebbels and the drafts of Hitler’s writings for his research into Hitler’s rise to power and his descent into madness. His increasingly irrational behavior lead to critical errors that hastened the Nazis’ defeat