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Home --> Business --> Business Ingenuity

Business Ingenuity

"If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door," so they say. These are tales about ingenuity, one-upmanship, and just plain business savvy.

Ratings Key

        Green bullet = true
        Red bullet = false
        Multiple status bullet = multiple truth values
        Yellow bullet = undetermined
        White bullet = unclassifiable veracity

Select this link for an expanded
definition of our rating system.

White bullet Competitor one-ups a firm proud of its new thin wire by drilling a hole through it.

White bullet Famous fix-it man charges $1 for marking an 'X' and $4,999 for knowing where to make it.

White bullet Henry Ford used to take apart junked cars in search of parts that had held up too well.

Red bullet NASA spent millions of dollars developing an astronaut pen which would work in outer space, while the Soviets solved the same problem by simply using pencils.

Red bullet Japan renamed a town 'Usa' so that they could legitimately identify their exports as being "Made in USA."

White bullet The setback of a workman's illiteracy frees him to become a success in another field.

White bullet Crafty workman ensures he will be paid for his chimney work by boobytrapping the job.

Green bullet Alka-Seltzer dramatically increased their sales by instructing consumers to use two tablets instead of one.

White bullet Job applicant who salts his food before tasting it is rejected by business tycoon.

White bullet Fired oil rig worker gains revenge on former bosses by dropping a piece of equipment in the well.

Red bullet Wife of deceased contractor brings him to work then asserts company must pay for his time.

White bullet Low-level employee suggests simple yet brilliant innovation that increases the profits of a successful company many times over.

Red bullet Coca-Cola came to be bottled when a stranger sold a two-word remarkable idea to the company: "Bottle it."*

Red bullet Instant cake mixes sold poorly until one food company decided to require the addition of a fresh egg to their product.

* Entries marked with an asterisk will display in a separate browser window.

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