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TIL In 1575, a German mass murderer nicknamed Puschpeter is reported to have kept his wits after being impaled. The stake hit his spine and he berated the executioner. Puschpeter commanded the executioner to draw the stake out of him and gave instructions for how to make the impalement properly.

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mAmR TIL From 1956 to 1996 the Mormon Church operated a program where Native American kids would be baptized and placed in Mormon foster homes, thinking it would “lighten” them. It was based on the Mormon belief that Native Americans were originally white until God punished them by making them darker.
Z8OMp TIL the word “meh” was officially added to the Oxford dictionary in 2008 but its origins trace back to when it appeared on a 1928 Yiddish dictionary
oRAv8 TIL Freddy Kruger was originally going to be played by veteran British actor David Warner.
176X TIL that some ants abduct different breeds of ants to keep them as slaves. Those slaves occasionally rebel, sabotage their masters hives and kill their offspring. Behold the Spartacants.
JYe8l TIL the first elephant in America was Old Bet, arriving in 1796. Capt Jacob Crowninshield bought it in Calcutta for $450 and sold it in New York for $10K. Old Bet was exhibited for years then sold to Hackaliah Bailey's circus. In 1816, Old Bet was shot in the eye and killed by a spectator.