Crazy ideas and chance discoveries have changed the way we do business and view life.
Otis Elevator
Self-taught mechanic Elisha Otis invented a safety break that essentially heralded the star of the elevator industry! Thanks to him skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building (1931) and the Flat Iron Building (1902) were able to exist. His company remains today as testament to his legacy.
Pap Smear
Dr. George Papanikolaou from Kymi, Greece, was the Greek pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection and inventor of the “Pap Smear”.
Diners Club
The idea was conceived at the Major’s Cabin Grill restaurant in New York in 1949 when Frank mcNamara was dining with clients and realized that he had left his wallet in another suit. That’s when the idea of a multipurpose charge cards came to him. He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner and later with his lawyers. Unfortunately the monopoly of Diners Club was short lived as other credit card companies began to form.
Ford – Henry Ford
Henry Ford’s discovery of the assembly line changed manufacturing forevermore.
General Electric
The legendary Thomas Edison brought electricity to our homes.
Banca Monte Dei Paschi
The bank was created in 1472, introducing modern bank and accounts practices such as checks and the issuing of loans to persons.
It was started in January 1996 by Larry Page and Sergei Brin who created a search engine with direct access to pages forever changing life.
March Zuckerberg launched his social networking service in February 2004 as a way of keeping in touch with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students but by September 2006 it was open to everyone over the age of 13 with a valid email address.
Frappe
The Greek invention was developed in 1957 by Dimitris Vakondios during the International Trade Fair. He wanted to drink coffee during a conference break and couldn’t find warm water so he used a shaker and a bit of renovation to forever change the meaning of a coffee break.
