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Prior to Kohl’s department store, Max Khol opended Khol’s supermarket, which eventually became Khol’s Food Store- and instead of abandoning his orginal concept entirely, khol expanded into department stores and kept both. Khol’s Food Stores were sold to A&P in 1983

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Contrary to what you might expect, the largest tire manufacturer in the world isn’t Goodyear or Bridgestone. If you take toys into account, it is actually LEGO. The Danish brand makes over 300 million rubber tires annually and has held the Guinness World Record for the largest toy Tire manufacturer since 2011.

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Medieval falks brought a sense of humor to the naming of hunting dogs. One fifteenth-century manuscript recorded Lewde, Badde, Nameles, and Spowse on a list moniker. Other entertaining entries include Argument, Feete, and Salmon.

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“Moonlight” (2016) made history by becoming, when adjusted for inflation, the lowest-budget film ever to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Barry Jenkins created the movie for just $1.5 million. In comparison, the first winner of the Best (originally Outstanding) Picture award, “Wings,” had a budget of two million dollars in 1927.

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You can tell zebra species apart by looking at the pattern of stripes on their rump: Mountain zebras have smaller stripes; plain zebras have broad bands; and Grevy’s zebra stripes come together to form a kind of triangle.

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The first transatlantic phone call (i.e., not a test or experiment), was made between New York City and London on January 7, 1927. During a test the previous day, technicians made small talk about the weather.

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The blood and livers of slain gladiators were considered tremendously valuable under the Roman Empire, as people used them to treat epilepsy.

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The same literary agent represented children’s book authors Stan and Jan Berenstain (the Berenstain Bear Series) and On the Road author Jack Kerouac.

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100 years ago, on

December 23, 1925

The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes dance troupe formed in St. Louis as the Missouri Rockets. The moved to New York permanently in 1932.

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100 years ago, on

December 12, 1925

The first “motor hotel,” later abbreviated “motel,” opened in San Luis Obispo, California, the halfway point when driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

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By the number

4,862

Ring count of Prometheus, a bristlecone pine tree cut down for research purposes in 1964 by U.S. Forest Service personnel in eastern Nevada. Scientist believe the tree may have been more than 5,000 years old, making it the oldest non-clonal organism ever discovered.

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Fun Fact

Mary Edward Walker, who served as a surgeon for the Union Army during the Civil War, is the only female recipient of the U.S. Army Medal of Honor.