m1byx TIL Montgomery Ward still exists and is owned by the Swiss Colony company.
DQkyg TIL of the the shipwreck of the American vessel General Grant in 1866 on a remote archipelago south of New Zealand. The few survivors of the wreck were stranded for 18 months before a passing ship rescued them. Their ordeal led to the creation of "Castaway Depots" which saved future sailors.
vPxW7 TIL high heels were originally worn by men, mainly for horseback riding and status display.
J1ox4 TIL that Layne Staley initially refused to be the vocalist of Alice in Chains, only coming around after the band intentionally auditioned terrible singers in front of him to hint that they wanted him in the band. Once a male stripper in skimpy clothes auditioned, Staley got the message and joined.
pYjLb TIL The Peninsular Japonic languages are postulated now-extinct Japonic languages reflected in ancient placenames and glosses from central and southern parts of the Korean Peninsula. The placename evidence suggests Japonic languages were still spoken in parts of the peninsula for several century
GAajj TIL that walt disney's office suite was recreated to look the same as the day he died
oR0bE TIL that an Oklahoma-based CEO liked the design of the World Trade Center so much, that in 1976 he commissioned the WTC’s architects to build him a tower that resembled a half-scale version of Tower 1. It remained Oklahoma’s tallest skyscraper for 35 years.
164jd TIL that the last woolly mammoths survived on isolated Wrangel Island off Siberia until approximately 2000 BC, long after their mainland extinction around 10,000 years ago. This means they coexisted in time with the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza (about 2560 BC).
dDgoB TIL The crash site of Air Inter Flight 148 wasn't discovered by rescuers but instead by journalists who were led there by a surviving passenger.
KY14a TIL that there is a cow buried on campus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, named "Illini Nellie" (1927-1940)
a8bab TIL Lauren Bacall's only Academy Award nomination wasn't until 1996 despite acting for more than 50 years.
Zpbro TIL Walt Disney's office suite is still the same as the day he died