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When Larry Met Sergey is the highly condensed story of Larry Page and Sergey Brin and the company they named Google. Scroll down for each chapter (slowly, because the graphics are in layers) and watch the men’s hairstyles and clothing change over the years. Link -via the Presurfer
Sometimes getting in your car and going down the street is just too much work, but you still have to eat at some point. That’s why Burger King is planning to try out a delivery service in certain U.S. markets. Presumably, if the plan goes well there, the service will expand to the rest of the U.S. Would you order delivery from BK or would you rather just head over to the drive through?
Link Via The Consumerist
Image Via scriptingnews [Flickr]
Bruce Wayne is incredibly successful, as a millionaire businessman and an anonymous crime fighter in his spare time even without the benefit of super powers. Unreality magazine has some lessons in how to be a success, as demonstrated by Bruce Wayne in comics, TV, and the movies. For example:
Bruce Wayne is incredibly focused on wearing the perfect suit for the occasion (he’s ordered more than 20,000 hats according to the movies), and while your work-wear won’t be stab-proof or taser-resistant, it also has the advantage of not needing to be stab-proof or taser-resistant. One of many advantages of a business degree is the idea of getting a job where you don’t need to offer fries with that, help people carry things, or outwit a demented madman determined to poison the city’s water supply.
Read the rest and put it to good use. Link
The Nintendo Company has been in business since 1889, but it took almost 100 years for Nintendo to become a global household name for its video games. Along the way, Nintendo branched out into all kinds of ventures, some of which will surprise you (like the love tester and the love hotels). One of their earlier toys is the plastic grabbing tool shown. See the rest at Ranker. Link -Thanks, Brian!
One way to sell Christmas cards is to create an outlandish story about their origin. Brad McGinty III tells about his father’s failed 1955 business venture with a Japanese artist whom he shot in the face during World War II. The artist’s “misinterpreted” idea for a greeting card is now for sale at his site. Whatever you may think of the cards, the story behind them is priceless. Link -via Metafilter
If you went to the Black Friday sales last night (or early this morning, depending on the store) you may be sick of the retail experience right now, but you can sit down, relax, have a nice drink, and read about how your favorite and not-so-favorite stores got started. Considering that most started out small and spread across the country, a store could be a pretty big deal before you ever got a chance to hear about it, much less shop there. For example, the business that became Toys “R” Us started back in 1948!
In 1948, 25-year-old World War II veteran Charles Lazarus began selling baby furniture in his father’s bike shop in Washington, DC. Recognizing the demand for children’s toys, Lazarus soon broadened his inventory and renamed the store Children’s Supermart. He opened Baby Furniture & Toy Supermarket in 1952, using backwards R’s in the sign to grab attention. Five years later, he opened Children’s Bargaintown, which became the first Toys “R” Us, in nearby Rockville, Md. The store’s giraffe mascot, Dr. G. Raffe, was renamed Geoffrey shortly before Lazarus sold Toys “R” Us to Interstate Stores in 1966.
Mental_ floss has the lowdown on this and ten other big box stores. Link
(Image by Flickr user dcmaster)
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Sure you might not need a tiny paper chair, but it sure is a lot more memorable than a tiny flat piece of paper. Oddee has a great selection of memorable business cards and while I love the chair idea, the breast augmentation one is certainly appropriate for a plastic surgeon’s potential market.
Don’t think for a second that Google’s business is limited to internet services. Indeed, they have their hands in a variety of industries, most recently, they’ve been testing out the beer-making business. That’s right, Google has paired with Dogfish Head beer to make their own Belgian Dubbel beer called Urkontinent.
The final brew included some impressive ingredients sourced around the world: Wattleseed from Australia, toasted amaranth from South America, green rooibos from Africa, myrica gale from Europe, and Hive Plex Honey from Google’s own California beehives. Taken all together, the beer is described by Dogfish as being hearty, with notes of coffee and chocolate covered cherries. Also, it packs more than double the average alcohol content of average beer.
To be fair, Google’s not making any money from the venture, they just want to see how the process works and to use the beer’s creation as a marketing tool. If you saw some Google beer, would you try it?
Link Via Geekosystem
Did you know the Star Wars films still haven’t made a profit? That’s because the studio distributes the film although the distribution branch is considered a separate company. The distributor charges the studio (itself) whatever fees it wants, so even after the film earns billions of dollars, it might still be billions of dollars more away from turning a profit.
And that’s just one of the dirty little movie-making secrets the industry doesn’t want you to know about. Find out more over at Film School Rejects.
If you thought that diamonds are rare or that halitosis is a real disease, then congratulations, you’ve bought in to some of the most manipulative business practices of the last hundred years. Cracked has even more on these practices and the companies that instituted them and the article is simply fascinating.
Business Cat is an image meme in which a cat holds a desk job. Most of what you see around the ‘net are pithy statements mixing business and cat culture. But here’s a post that takes you through the entire day of a house cat that holds down a nine-to-five job, although he often works late. After all, he is the Executive Vice Purrsident in Charge of Sales and Quality Control for New Yarn-Based Products. Link
Kids selling lemonade on a street corner is a classic American icon, but according to Georgia State Police, it’s actually against the law. Cops recently busted two tweens for selling without a business permit and a food vendor’s license. According to the police chief, the city won’t be backing down soon:
“We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance.”
Who knew lemonade could be so dangerous to the public health?
Link Via Consumerist Image Via ChocoladeHam [Flickr]
Fernando Reza created these wonderfully designed business cards for fictional companies from television and movie plots.You can buy a print of the work for $25 on his site.
How many can you name?
Link via Laughing Squid
Your business knowledge will be tested in today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental floss. You’ll be given the names of two companies at a time, and you decide which is older. I scored 73%, or 8 of 11, because I am as old as some of the companies listed. Link
It’s time to stay on that couch and make something of your life! Just follow these step-by-step instructions, and you’ll be slacking your way to financial freedom in no time.
1. GET A PLUM JOB
After earning a PhD and working his way up the corporate ladder, microbiologist Edward McSweegan was promoted to managing Lyme disease research grants for the National Institute of Health (NIH). But the job came with plenty of politics.
2. UPSET THE WRONG PEOPLE
When advocacy groups claimed that a “chronic” form of Lyme disease existed and that it required lifelong antibiotic treatments, McSweegan, like many public health experts, disagreed. He just wasn’t diplomatic about it. In 1995, he publicly called one of the groups “wacko”, much to NIH’s chagrin.
3. END UP WITH NOTHING BUT FREE TIME
The statement earned McSweegan a two-week suspension. It did not, however, earn him a pink slip. Instead, his bosses took away the work he had been doing and never gave him anything to replace it with. For seven years, the scientist effectively became a gofer-fetching coffee and forwarding emails. The only thing that didn’t change: his salary. That entire time, McSweegan continued to rake in $100,000 a year.
SLACKER WARNING! Don’t publicize your plight
If you’re sick of coasting and want to find real work in your inbox, do as McSweegan did. In 2003, the bored scientist finally snapped. He took his story to the media, where he publicly asked his bosses for something to do besides write mystery novels on taxpayer time. That year, McSweegan was finally given new grants to administer-a job he still does to this day.
1. BE REALLY GOOD AT SPORT
This is the tricky part. First, become a heavily-recruited, all-star baseball player like Bobby Bonilla.
2. NOW, DO YOUR JOB POORLY
In 1992, Bonilla became the highest-paid player in baseball when the New York Mets signed him to a $29 million, five-year contract. It wasn’t the best idea. For the next three years, the Mets had a dismal record, and Bonilla became the poster child for their ineptitude. Of course, his behavior didn’t help. He once called the press box during a game to complain about a call the umpire had just made against him. Another time, he offered a critical journalist “a tour of the Bronx”-as a threat. In 1995, the Mets traded him away.
3. IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, FAIL AGAIN
Four years later, the Mets made the baffling decision to rehire Bonilla, who proceeded to follow up his disastrous early-1990s stint with an equally tragic end to the decade. This time, it only took the Mets one year to oust him. The catch? According to Bonilla’s contract, the team stilled owed him $5.9 million.
4. WAIT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO MAKE A BAD DECISION
Rather than pay Bonilla off or allow him to keep playing, the Mets made a convoluted deal. Bonilla would leave the team, and his salary would be deferred for ten years. In exchange, he’d earn 8 percent interest annually-bringing the total sum to nearly $30 million, which he’ll get in annual payments of $1.19 million from 2011 until 2035. What were the Mets thinking? Hard to say. Pundits speculate that the team was simply short on cash. Delaying the payout allowed management to free up funds, meaning they could recruit players they actually wanted.
1. BUY THE RIGHT HOUSE
Actually, that’s pretty much it. Federal farm subsidies are paid out to help keep farmers in business. The intention is to stabilize farmers’ income to counteract erratic weather and fluctuations on commodity prices. Unfortunately, the subsidies are notoriously mismanaged. In 2006, the Washington Post investigated the lax attitude surrounding the allocations of these funds. Surprisingly, the most egregious offenders were suburban McMansion dwellers. Reporters found that the cash payouts remained tied to the land-long after that land stopped being used for farming. The journalists also found realtors and developers advertising the subsidies as a selling point on lots and houses. In 2005, one area of Texas brought in $37 million in rice farm subsidies-most of it going to either non-farmers or farmers who no longer grew rice at all.
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The above article by Maggie Koerth-Baker is reprinted with permission from the Scatterbrained section of the September-October 2010 issue of mental_floss magazine.
Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
Many different ways to create a happier workforce, but I find this one works quite well.
When I was in university, I used to absolutely love studying and writing papers. Wait! Before you throw me into the nerd dumpster, hear me out. Okay, the actual work involved with cramming mind-numbing textbook information into my head, or making sure every sentence I typed was properly referenced, quoted, footnoted and endnoted was extremely tedious indeed. But, as endless as some of those homework nights seemed to be, I was genuinely happy to be there. The reason? I had inadvertently constructed a workplace so comfortable, so conducive to both concentration and creativity, that I thoroughly enjoyed hibernating there for hours on end. I say inadvertently, because back then I was relatively clueless when it came to workplace mood-enhancement techniques, and it was only years later that I discovered the value in the things I did.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Nightcrawlerx.
1. Henry Ford’s Bumpy Road
Henry Ford probably wouldn’t be too judgmental about about his company’s recent financial troubles. Particularly because he was no stranger to debt himself. When Ford first started the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899, the young engineer was a little too obsessed with perfection. In two years, the plant produced just twenty cars. The poor output, combined with exorbitant costs, wasn’t a recipe for success. By 1901, his enterprise had gone bankrupt. Not one to wallow in self-pity, Ford reorganized his talent under a new name, the Henry Ford Company, but soon left to start yet another group-the Ford Motor Company. And that’s where he finally started to make the real money.
Whatever happened to the Henry Ford Company? It did alright for itself. The group changed its name to the Cadillac Automobile Company.
2. Hershey’s Bitter-to-Sweet Success
Milton Heshey knew he could make great candy, but running a great business was more daunting. Hershey, who didn’t have a formal education, spent four years apprenticing in a Philadelphia candy shop before striking out on his own in 1876. Six years later, his business went under. This wasn’t the last time Hershey would go broke. A subsequent attempt to peddle sweets in New York City met the same fate, and the penniless Hershey returned home to Lancaster, Penn. There, he started tinkering with the use of fresh milk in caramel production. And out of nowhere, sweet success! In 1900, Heshey sold his Lancaster Caramel Company for an eye-popping $1 million. But the restless entrepreneur wasn’t done yet. He immediately began work on a new idea-manufacturing a Swiss luxury import known as “milk chocolate”.
3. The Burt Reynolds Bachelor Pad
Back in the 1970s, Burt Reynolds owned mansions on both coasts, a helicopter, and a lavish ranch. But the next decade was harder on the Hollywood star. Thanks to a pricey divorce and some poor career choices, Reynolds ended up owing creditors almost $10 million. In 1996, he filed for Chapter 11.
But instead of hawking his valuables and putting his trademark mustache up for auction, Reynolds found a loophole to protect his wealth. In states such as Florida and Texas, there’s a homestead exemption that protects debtors from losing their primary residence. The problem was, Burt Reynolds’ shelter happened to be a sprawling $2.5 million Florida mansion. The issue caused such a stink that when Congress passed measures tightening the loopholes in 2001, Reynolds was one of the examples Senators used to show that bankruptcy rules went too easy on the wealthy.
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The above article was written by Ethan Trex. It is reprinted with permission from the Scatterbrained section of the May/June 2010 issue of mental_floss magazine.
Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
People make mistakes all the time. Some, however, are bigger than others. Here are some cases where a simple misspelling, punctuation error, or forgetfulness cost someone millions of dollars.
Rogers Communications thought they had an ironclad five year contract with Aliant. However Aliant, being the grammar police that they are, saw it differently. They cited this sentence: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five-year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.” Had the second comma not been there, Aliant would have had to honor the first five years of the contract before anything could be changed. But because of the comma, Aliant cancelled it early and almost tripled their prices, costing Rogers Communications $2.13 million.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by sish2000.
Food Inc. didn’t win Best Documentary this year, but its message is clear: farming in America is not what it used to be. Thankfully, the passion for farming for a living, and doing it right, still motivates some, like the Nolan family. A feature documentary called From Grass to Cheese is underway to show the world their commitment to start a dairy farm, and more.
The Nolan family’s Laurel Valley Creamery got it’s start in 2005 when they purchased farmland belonging to Nick’s grandparents in an attempt to carry on their family farming tradition. Their goal now is to create a successful cheese business and also help people renew their relationship with food production. Nick and Celeste firmly believe that by turning grass into cheese there are rewards far greater than just filling stomachs.
The documentarians are hoping to raise money to finish the film and have it screened for next year’s awards. As the Thomas Jefferson quote rightly states: “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.” Aside from Farmville, interest in farming in the United States seems to be going the way of the drive-in movie. This kind of project brings hope for future farmers.
While it seems most establishments with drive-thru windows are in agreement that bicycles are forbidden, and refused service, Washington-based restaurant Burgerville is leading the way to change that. All 39 of their stores now allow cyclists in their drive up lanes, giving free smoothies to the first batch earlier this month.
The intention of our Bike Friendly Service program is to create a consistent policy and experience for our guests in the drive thru. To support this program, a cross-functional team, including members from Hawthorne Burgerville and community members from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, have designed and are beginning the implementation of the first phase of the program.
Link via BikePortland
The two sportswear companies Puma and Adidas, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany were founded by Adi and Rudolf Dassler. The two brothers made shoes together beginning in the 1920s but split apart during World War II, probably over politics. Sixty years later, the two companies on either side of the river will officially end the feud on September 21st.
When the brothers set up their separate companies in 1948 the town was also split, with residents loyal to one or other of the only major employers.
In a joint release, the two companies said they were making up to support the Peace One Day organisation, which has its annual non-violence day on Monday.
They say that the events will be the first joint activities held by the two companies since the brothers left their shared firm in 1948.
Adi and Rudolf Dassler went to their graves without settling their differences, and their descendants do not control either of the public companies. Link -via the Presurfer
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, which includes 5,000 comic book characters, including Spiderman, Captain America, the X-men, and the Fantastic Four.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on last week’s closing price of Disney, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the total transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.
Get ready for plenty of speculation on what this will mean for the comics. Link -via Fark
Photographer Brian Ulrich has spent the last few year examining “the peculiarities and complexities of the consumer-dominated culture in which we live.” His latest project captures the beauty and sadness of empty stores and failed businesses.
Most recently a new project began in 2008 entitled Dark Stores, Ghost Boxes and Dead Malls. In the recent economic downturn some of the very stores I photographed at the beginning of the project are now emptied and laid barren in the hulking empty architecture of the big box, mall or store.
Link -via Metafilter
The web seems to be filled with design fans but the creatively innovative business card is the opus of many designers – something that shows off their skills to potential employers, colleagues or contractors.
The collection linked below, however, has to be one of the most thorough fully-sourced lists out there (though there are plenty of other awesome ones too).
Business cards are cards representing company or individual bearing business information like company’s or individual’s name, address, e-mail, telephone number etc. Usually business cards are simple – black text on white background – including just main information and company’s logotype, but there are many other creative business cards standing out and really taking attention.
