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TIL cigarettes were invented by Spanish beggars in Seville in the 16th century, who gathered cigar stubs and rolled the leftover tobacco in paper (papeletes) into cigarettes (cigarrillos). Cigarettes acquired respectability by the late 18th century and their use spread by Portugese traders

NXGlM TIL in 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier made the first manned free balloon flight. He later died in 1785 attempting to fly across the English Channel, becoming the first victim of an air crash.
jNd8R TIL The last person to be convicted of blasphemy in the United States was an Arkansas man who in 1928 put a sign in his storefront reading, "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." He spent 3 months in jail.
154W TIL when Columbus first sailed to America his ship’s captain (Rodrigo de Triana) spotted land first but Columbus later claimed he had already seen it a few hours earlier, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension that had been promised by King Ferdinand to the first person to sight land.
ANZPg TIL that NBA Player Lou Williams was almost carjacked in 2011, until the thief recognized him and stopped because he was a Lou Williams fan. Lou Williams took him to McDonald's as thanks.
DQ5Er TIL of the 80's Japanese punk band 'Hanatarash', famous for their live shows. Before being banned by most venues they had used a machete to cleave a dead cat, incidents with circular saws, used excavators to tear down venues, and at one point threatened to throw a molotov cocktail into the crowd