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TIL about Blackstone's ratio, the idea that, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." Blackstone's principle influenced the nineteenth-century development of "beyond a reasonable doubt" as the burden of proof in criminal law.

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x67vb TIL that in 2001, the Monkey-Man of Delhi was an unknown anomaly which was reported to be roaming Delhi in mid-2001. Some described it as covered in thick black hair with a metal helmet, metal claws, glowing red eyes and it wore roller-skates. The incident has been described as mass hysteria.
VMNrB TIL that Marvel's Star Lord was at one point not the only comic character to go by Star Lord. In 1978, a short lived British comic series called Starlord was published. Both Star Lords were not affiliated. However, Marvel's Star Lord debuted in 1976, making him the original, and the most popular.
XxjX TIL that the first automobile used in a war was a steam car. The British preferred it because they could tap the boiler to brew a cup of tea.
VMXxp TIL Pope Gregory IX condemned the black cat as an incarnation of Satan, and consequently, it was the death warrant for the animal. This worsened the Black Death a century after Gregory's time because the plague was spread by rats which were unchecked in Europe due to the decline of cat numbers.
e0QjD TIL about “key money:” illegal bribes that potential tenants would give a landlord to ensure that they were given priority consideration when looking for an apartment.