Brands
Founded By A Seventeen-Year-Old
IKEA was started in 1943 by a 17-year-old selling pens and matches by bicycle; flat-pack furniture came later, after a worker took the legs off a table to fit it in a car.
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A Running Shoe Born In A Waffle Iron
Nike's grip-changing waffle sole came from a coach pouring rubber into his family's waffle iron in 1971, and the famous swoosh cost just 35 dollars.
A Computer Built In A Garage
Apple's first computer was assembled by hand in 1976 and sold as a bare circuit board; buyers had to add their own case, keyboard and screen.
Bricks From 1958 Still Snap Together
LEGO's name means 'play well' in Danish, and a brick moulded in 1958 still clicks perfectly onto one made today.
Nine Glasses A Day In Year One
Coca-Cola was mixed by an Atlanta pharmacist in 1886 and sold about nine servings a day in its first year; it is now sold in more than 200 countries.
The First Car And The First Road Trip
Carl Benz patented the first petrol automobile in 1886, and his wife Bertha proved it worked by driving 106 km alone the next year.
A Company Owned By Charity
Roughly two-thirds of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, so a large share of the group's profits flows back into schools, hospitals and research.