K in K Mart

Matt!:

Quick, before they disappear completely. I've always wondered what the K in Kmart stands for. Do you know?

-- Rex, the net

Kafka? Knackwurst? Kinky? Kayak? Knucklehead? Kudzu? Was the emporium founded by a Swede and originally called Knute-Mart? Or a Scot�Kilt-Mart? Stop me if you hear one you like. Personally, I like all those better than the real answer. The mart's K stands for Kresge (Sebastian S.), the Detroit entrepreneur who founded the shopateriums in 1897.