The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 37 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Parrish: El Salvador replaced public teachers with Synthesis AI tutoring software
“Oh, so they developed this Synthesis, this AI company developed this tutor, which actually teaches kids, and it's so good that El Salvador, the country, just recently adopted and replaced their teachers.”
Rockefeller Predicted Standard Oil Would Someday Refine All Oil
“The Standard Oil Company will someday refine all of the oil and make all of the barrels.”
Volkswagen secretly supplied gray market dealers to maintain artificial scarcity
“He discovered he could sell Volkswagen as a gray marketer, buying beetles that Volkswagen secretly supplied while keeping official dealers on the allocation to create artificial scarcity.”
Wozniak: Every computer prior to Apple I used front-panel switches and lights
“Every computer before the Apple One had a front panel of switches and lights, he noted. Every computer since has had a keyboard and a screen.”
Parrish: Apple I marked first time typing on a keyboard displayed directly on-screen
“He didn't realize it then, but this was the first time in history anyone had typed on a keyboard and seen it appear on their own computer screen.”
Parrish: Most Share Buybacks Merely Cover Up Stock Option Dilution
“You know, if you look at most buybacks, they're just covering up stock options.”
Hetty Green Loaned Over $6M to Save Texas Banks in 1907
“Her son, Ned, revealed years later that during the 19 oh seven panic, Hetty had loaned over six million in Texas alone in addition to her New York loans. She single-handedly kept several banks from failing, prevented numerous businesses from going under, and h…”
Modern department store makeup counters originated with Estée Lauder
“Those makeup counters you see in every department store today with the dedicated chairs and beauty experts. That all started because Estee refused to let her first customer try products alone.”
Parrish: Mellon's personal income surged to $7.8M during the 1929 crash
“In fact, while the market crashed around him, his personal income actually increased from 5.2 million in 1928 to 7.8 million in 1929.”
RadioShack and Commodore kept 1977 computer specs secret to monopolize peripherals
“Radio Shack and Commodore had made a calculated decision. They wanted to be appliance companies. They kept their technical specifications secret, hoping to monopolize the market for peripherals and software.”
Hetty Green Bought the Defaulted Town of Kohlauer for $100,000
“In December of 1890, when the town of Kohlauer defaulted and went up for auction, Hedy and Ned were there before dawn, walking the streets and inspecting every property. When bidding began at 10 o'clock, they had already arranged financing. Before other bidder…”
Costco intentionally loses money on every $1.50 hot dog combo sold
“Price Club sold a hot dog and soda for a dollar 50 in 1976. Today, nearly 50 years later, Costco still charges a dollar 50. They lose money on every single one.”
Les Schwab's 1970 profit-sharing formula retained only 38 percent for the company
“By 1970, Les had codified his profit sharing into what he called the 100 story. For every hundred dollars of store profit, 25 went to the manager, 10 to the assistant manager, 27 to the employee bonus and retirement fund. The company kept 38%.”
Shane Parrish: El Salvador replaced its K-5 math curriculum with Synthesis Tutor
“And it's crazy, so it teaches the kids math, and my understanding just from reading it a little bit is El Salvador just replaced, like, the K through five math with synthesis tutor, and the results are, like, astounding.”
Parrish: Rockefeller collected $5M insurance payout upon reaching age 96
“When he turned 96, his insurance company, honoring an old policy, had to pay him five million dollars.”
Hyundai Required English Entrance Exams Years Before Other Korean Firms
“English tests were required at Hyundai years before the rest of Korea caught on.”
South Korea Spent Close to $6 Billion on the 1988 Summer Olympics
“Korea then spent close to six billion dollars on the games themselves, and you could see the country's ambition in every line item.”
Bernie Marcus Managed $1B in Merchandise at Two Guys by Age 28
“By 28, Bernie was overseeing almost a billion dollars in merchandise and nearly 70% of all appliances sold on the East Coast because that's what Two Guys was doing.”
Clayton Homes grew sales 25% annually during the stagflation era
“During those tough times with 20% interest rates, Clayton grew sales by 25% each year while keeping factories open and sales centers staffed.”
Hetty Green Contributed Six Figures to Defeat William Jennings Bryan
“She contributed over six figures to the Fusion Party in Texas to defeat Williams Jennings Byron, who had made her a campaign target, railing against her wealth and demanding a federal income tax”
Switching to Per-Shift Pay Fixed FedEx's Nightly Sorting Bottleneck
“Federal Express changed one thing. They started paying by the shift, not the hour. Get done faster, go home earlier, exact same pay. Up until that point, the sort had been a nightly disaster, and suddenly it ran like clockwork.”
Commercial Fax Machines Hit $300 While FedEx Built Satellite Zapmail
“While FedEx built its satellite network, fax machine prices crashed to 300 dollars.”
Parrish: John Bragg built North America's largest private telecom company
“He's built North America's largest private telecommunications company.”
Les Schwab reached over 120 locations and $130M in revenue by 1975
“By 1975, Les Schwab had over 60 company stores plus 60 member dealers. Revenue exceeded a hundred and thirty million.”
Les Schwab dominated the Pacific Northwest without acquiring a single competitor
“Most telling was by 1975 Les Schwab dominated the Pacific Northwest without acquiring a single competitor. Every store was built from scratch or recruited as a member dealer.”
NeonX grew to over 4,000 employees and $159M in annual sales by late 1968
“NEONX had grown from 600 to over 4000 employees. Annual sales jumped from 8.5 million to one hundred and fifty nine million.”
Toyota employees submitted 400,000 improvement suggestions in 1980
“40,000 Toyota employees submitted 400,000 written suggestions in 1980. 10 suggestions per worker per year.”
Parrish: Mellon's Gulf Oil stake held $100M market value despite $17.4M book
“Mellon's personal fortune exploded from fifty-five million in 1913 to eighty million by 1921, but these were merely book values. They really understated how much he was worth. His Gulf oil holdings alone were valued at 17.4 million on paper, but they were wort…”
Eaton's refused to accept third-party credit cards until 1981
“While competitors embraced bank cards in the 19 fifties, Eaton's clung to their own system until 1981.”
Parrish: Selling one million copies ranks a book in the top 0.001%
“A million puts you in like the top, 0.001% of all books ever published.”
Japanese Settlers Owned Over Half of Korea's Farmland During Chung's Youth
“By the time Chung was a teenager, Japanese settlers owned more than half the farmland in Korea.”
Mary Kay Ash's older son gave her his $4,500 life savings
“Her older son can't leave his job. He has a family, but he pulls out his checkbook and writes her a check for 4500 dollars. Every penny he saved since he was a kid, he hands it to her.”
Mary Kay Cosmetics Scaled From $10M in 1967 to Over $100M in 1976
“1967, they're four years after opening, annual sales, ten million dollars. 1971, they hit twenty-seven million, with nearly 30,000 consultants. By 1976, they exceeded one hundred million in annual sales for the first time.”
Hetty Green Died While Arguing Over the Cost of Milk
“The woman who had spent her life fighting for every dollar died while arguing with her cook over the cost of milk.”