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TIL It's generally agreed that 10 power is the upper limit of hand-holdable binoculars. The higher the magnification, the greater the wobble. At some point, the wobble negates the increased resolution that magnification provides

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epN0b TIL the Great Chicago Fire wasn’t even the deadliest fire in the midwest the day it happened. The Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin burned 1.2 million acres and killed anywhere from 1500 to 2500 people, five times as many as the Great Chicago Fire.
wonko TIL the French writer Guy de Maupassant ate lunch at the base of the Eiffel Tower almost every day because he hated its design so much, it was the one place in Paris where he couldn't see it.
mxoLR TIL The Swoon Hypothesis says Jesus did not die on the cross. He fell unconscious and woke up later. Early proponents say Jesus pretended to die, using drugs given by Luke, and revived later by Jospeh. This was to appear a spiritual Messiah and get Israel to abandon the idea of a political Messiah.
PYlEe TIL that in 67 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero participated in the Olympics, bribing the organizers to postpone the games for a year. Nero won every contest, even one which he left the race after being thrown off his chariot. He was removed from the list of winners after his death.
Y7Rjr TIL that some common oral contraceptives (birth-control pills) can be rendered ineffective if stored for an extended period of time above 30 degC (86 degF) - such as inside a hot car. They can also be degraded by storage in a cold place such as a home refrigerator or freezer.