You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

The first box of Crayola crayons had eight colors and sold for five cents in 1903.

[Lee Stewart]

By far the world’s favorite denim brand, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis made the first pair of blue jeans in 1873. At the time, Strauss ran a wholesale dry goods store where Davis had bought cloth to make strong pants using rivets. The pants were a hit, Davis needed a business partner and found one in Strauss. The American apparel company now has 2,300 stores worldwide and revenues of $4.9 billion.

[Lee Stewart]

The department store that now has a market capitalization of $9.1 billion first opened in 1858 as a small fancy dry goods store on the corner of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City. Established by former sailor Rowland Hussey Macy, the store became successful after he launched it as R.H. Macy & Co. Today it’s one of the largest retailers in the world with about 870 stores in 45 states.

[Lee Stewart]

The iconic American jewelry and luxury brand was born in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B Young. Established in New York, Tiffany first gained international recognition in 1867 at the Paris World’s Fair where it won the grand prize for silver craftsmanship. The brand is now one of America’s greatest institutions, worth $13.09 billion, with more than 200 stores worldwide.

[Lee Stewart]

The brainchild of Henry Sands Brooke was born in 1818 and is the oldest-known and registered company producing clothes for men. It was the first ready-to-wear fashion emporium in America and since then has shaped fashion across the nation. Its headquarters is on Madison Avenue in New York City and now features clothing for women. Owned by Italian billionaire Claudio Del Vecchio, the company is part of his $18.7 billion empire.

[Lee Stewart]

The company responsible for shining white smiles around the world was established in 1806 on Dutch Street in New York City. William Colgate began the company as a starch, soap and candle business before merging it with Palmolive. It is now a global consumer products company worth $61.5 billion that offers oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition.

[Lee Stewart]

Worth around $50 billion, Barclays was founded in 1690 by John Freame and Thomas Gould after they started trading as goldsmith bankers on London's Lombard Street. Once Freame retired in 1736, his son-in-law James Barclay became a partner in the bank. In 1958 Barclays became the first UK bank to appoint a female branch manager.

[Lee Stewart]

During the renaissance era the Italian city Gardone was renowned as the hub for high-quality gun making. Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta was a master gun barrel maker living in the city at the time when he established the brand in 1526. Arsenal of Venice paid him to make 185 arquebus barrels, making the Beretta company the oldest manufacturing company in the world which sells about $700 million worth annually.

[Lee Stewart]

Founded in 1488, Rathbornes Candles was established long before electricity was invented. Founded by John G. Rathborne, the company held the contract for all the street lighting fittings in Dublin during the 19th century. Despite there no longer being a need for candles to light the streets, Rathbornes Candles’ success today comes from sales of candles for the home. As the world’s oldest candle company, it is still based in Dublin.