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TIL Two weeks before the Castle Gate Mine disaster that killed 171 men, the Utah Fuel Company laid off many of the miners without dependents during a shortage of coal sales. As a result, 114 of the men killed in the disaster were married men and left behind 415 widows and fatherless children

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GYdmE TIL the My Lai Massacre committed by US soldiers was covered up until another soldier who had heard reports of the massacre began a campaign to bring the events to light. He didn't receive a response after writing to the government and finally gave an interview to the journalist to break the story.
R51rw TIL that in 1984, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith heard a song on the radio. Tyler liked it and told Perry that they should do a cover version. Perry turned to Tyler and said "That's us, f*ckhead." Tyler's didn't remember writing or performing their '75 song "You See Me Crying"
nlDd TIL Reddit started out as a site to order fast food by text message.
gM1K4 TIL that the last American WWI veteran lied about his age to serve in the military at 16. He told one recruiter he was 18 but was told to go home "before my mother noticed I was gone." Instead of being discouraged, he doubled down and told the next recruiter he was 21 and was signed up on the spot.
vg1x TIL experiments were held that tested responses to potential threats from white and black strangers. The results determined that unarmed blacks were shot more than whites, even among black subjects tested. “The trend is less likely a function of active prejudice than of ambient social stereotypes.”