Refresh for new random facts
1. The oldest business known to be currently operating in the United States is the cymbal company Zildjian, founded in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1623.
2. The Bank of New York was the first listed company on the New York Stock Exchange, in 1792.
3. Fur trader John Jacob Astor would be worth around $100 Billion in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation.
4. Pierre Omidyar had formed a web consulting firm called Echo Bay Technology Group in 1995. When he tried to register EchoBay.com, though, he found that Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, had gotten it first. Ebay was born.
5. When Coca-Cola appeared in 1886 it was marketed as an "Esteemed Brain Tonic and Intellectual Beverage."
6. Dr. Pepper founder Charles Alderton named his drink after the father of a girl he was dating, Dr. Charles Kenneth Pepper.
7. The U.S. steel industry introduced the 5 Day, 40 hour work week in 1923.
8. Car magnate Henry Ford would be worth around $200 Billion in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation.
9. J.C. Penney's initials stand for James Cash, founder of the store chain in 1902.
10. Schoolboy Antonio Gentile of Suffolk, Virginia, received $5 for his winning drawing in a Planters Peanut 1916 contest. Mr. Peanut was born.
When me and old Abe used to sit by the fire he would tell me the darndest tales about this great land of ours.
