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TIL That in 1958 Mao Zedong ordered the killings of all sparrows. The mindless war on birds unleashed terrible plagues, exacerbated the great famine, created a fatal chapter in chinas history. And underscored why respect for animals is the path to freedom.

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7r7ab TIL the Pixar character Grandma Coco was based on a real person: María Salud Ramírez, from Michoacán, Mexico.
ZpYW4 TIL the composer for the theme song of “the Rugrats” is Mark Mothersbaugh, cofounder of Devo.
16VpV TIL citizens in North Queensland, Australia hold an annual "Toad Day Out" every March 29 where thousands of cane toads are captured and humanely destroyed inspired by the "Whacking Day" episode of The Simpsons.
Wxv4 TIL Between 213-210BC in Ancient China, Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi buried scholars alive (and burned books) in order to unify all thoughts and political opinions and to suppress intellectual discourse.
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