Refresh for new random facts
1. Bank of America was originally called "The Bank of Italy." It was founded by Amadeo Giannini in 1904 to cater to Italian immigrants in San Francisco.
2. Contrary to common belief, the name Haagen-Dazs is not European, it is simply two made-up words meant to look European
3. Thomas Jefferson invented the first hideaway bed ever patented in the United States.
4. Nathaniel C. Wyeth, son of artist N.C. Wyeth, brother of artists Andrew, Carolyn and Henriette Wyeth, developed the plastic soda bottle while working as an engineer for the DuPont Company.
5. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, is said to have been afraid of the dark.
6. Starbucks was named after Starbuck, a character (the Quaker first mate on the ship) in Herman Melville's novel, Moby-Dick.
7. Before its name was changed in 1924, IBM was known as C-T-R, or Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company.
8. Starbucks was originally going to be called "Pequod," after the fishing vessel in Herman Melville's novel, Moby-Dick. The founders settled on Starbuck, the first mate on the ship, instead.
9. Secure, high-yielding stocks came to be known as "blue chips," because in poker blue chips are more valuable than red or white.
10. Discover Card was introduced by Sears in 1985 under the premise of charging no annual fee.
When me and old Abe used to sit by the fire he would tell me the darndest tales about this great land of ours.
