"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

So according to this, someone found a life preserver for the Edmund Fitzgerald. Others claim it is a hoax. Not to put too fine a point on it, but obviously I was failed in my youth by the particular entity who should have taught me this bit of trivia:

It was real.

Moderately famous song, played on the radio a goodly number of times a day, and I thought he made it up. I had no idea. I feel stupid. But I learned something today. Don't try to fake something unless you know what the original looks like.