Sacrifice Facts

The Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples believed powerful gods dwelled within volcanoes. To appease these deities, they performed human sacrifices—sometimes throwing victims directly into volcanic craters.

At the Pakistan Stock Exchange, goats have been sacrificed to ward off computer glitches and technical problems that disrupt trading.

The pea aphid can rupture its own body when attacked, releasing sticky defensive fluids that kill both itself and the predator while protecting nearby relatives.

In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the frozen Potomac River in Washington. A rescue helicopter lowered a lifeline to the survivors clinging to the wreck. Passenger Arland Williams caught it and handed it to the stranger beside him. He did it again and again, each time to someone else. When the helicopter came back for him, he had slipped beneath the water. The bridge the plane struck now bears his name.

When his sister Kim was diagnosed with leukemia in 1991, Keanu Reeves put his career on hold, sold his home to move closer to her, and spent a decade cooking her meals, cleaning her house, and personally administering her medications. Kim told PEOPLE magazine in 1995: "My brother is my prince." She survived.

Jesse Cole sold one season ticket in his first two months running the Savannah Bananas. He sold his house and slept on an air mattress in a duplex. One night a cockroach crawled across his face. Locals said he'd never sell another ticket. The opener sold out anyway. The team says every home game has since. This summer that meant an NFL stadium. Every game still sells out.