Business

When the Slinky was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000, more than 250 million had been sold to date.

The Accidental Invention of the Slinky

The idea for the timeless toy sprung to mind when Naval engineer Richard James dropped some coiled wires

The Wiffle Ball comes with slots on one side to make it easier to throw curves and other pitches.

How the Wiffle Ball Came to Be

Patented in 1957, the lightweight ball saved players' arms and more than a few windows

To celebrate its centennial, KitchenAid released a passion red limited edition stand mixer.

For 100 Years, KitchenAid Has Been the Stand-Up Brand of Stand Mixers

Even celebrity chef Julia Child said that the sleek appliance made mixing 'marvelous'

Ruthie Mundell stands among new and vintage chandeliers—all salvaged and ready to find a new home.

How Women Are Leading the Charge to Recycle Whole Houses

From lobbying for changes to city laws to running reuse centers for building supplies, women are dominating the deconstruction industry

The 2010 census showed that Scituate had the highest number of people claiming Irish ancestry than any other town in America, almost 50 percent of its roughly 18,000 residents, earning it the nickname the “Irish Riviera.”

The Most Irish Town in America Was Built on Seaweed

After discovering 'Irish moss' in coastal waters, Irish immigrants launched a booming mossing industry in Scituate, Massachusetts

One of Mae Reeves' "showstopper" hats

Entrepreneur Mae Reeves' Hat Shop Was a Philadelphia Institution. You Can Visit It at the Smithsonian.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture recreated one of the first businesses in the city to be owned by a black woman

The technology (above: c. 1947 advertisement for Carrier) that was initially envisioned as a tool to enhance industrial productivity is now a near necessity for American homes and transportation.

The Unexpected History of the Air Conditioner

The invention was once received with chilly skepticism but has become a fixture of American life

Every year its manufacturer, 3M, sells enough of it to circle Earth 165 times.

How the Invention of Scotch Tape Led to a Revolution in How Companies Managed Employees

College dropout Richard Drew became an icon of 20th century innovation, inventing cellophane tape, masking tape and more

Women compare A.J. Freiman shoes.

'Vis-O-Matic' Was the 1950s Version of Online Shopping

A Canadian department store tried to revolutionize buying when it opened a shop with booths and screens for ordering merchandise

Signmakers Stanley Sawicki and Stanley Palka prepare several thousand picket signs in 1950 for a possible Chrysler auto workers' strike over employee pensions.

Separating Truth From Myth in the So-Called ‘Golden Age’ of the Detroit Auto Industry

The post-war era’s labor unrest and market instability has seemingly been forgotten in the public’s memory

Crocker's Car heads to Promontory Summit in 1869. The car shuttled railroad president Leland Stanford from Sacramento to officially complete the transcontinental railroad, and probably also carried the iconic Golden Spike to the ceremony.

The Last Remaining Rail Car That ‘Witnessed’ the Transcontinental Railroad’s Momentous Day

‘Crocker’s Car’ brought the tycoon Leland Stanford to connect the East Coast to the West in 1869

For the First Time, Green Power Tops Coal Industry in Energy Production in April

Renewable energy outworked coal in April—and will likely do the same in May—though the trend likely won't last once air-conditioners switch on

Krispy Kreme store in London.

German Family That Owns Krispy Kreme Admits It Profited From Nazi Ties

Upon learning that their ancestors had relied on forced labor, the family was ‘ashamed and white as sheets,’ a spokesperson said

On the lid of the two-ounce can of Madam C. J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, her top-selling product, appears an African-American woman with thick, flowing hair. That woman was Walker herself.

How Business Executive Madam C. J. Walker Became a Powerful Influencer of the Early 20th Century

A tin of hair conditioner in the Smithsonian collections reveals a story of the entrepreneurial and philanthropic success of a former washerwoman

Miners marched to Lattimer, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1897, to protest harsh working conditions.

How a 1897 Massacre of Pennsylvania Coal Miners Morphed From a Galvanizing Crisis to Forgotten History

The death of 19 immigrants may have unified the labor movement, but powerful interests left their fates unrecognized until decades later

There are now zero waste supermarkets from Brooklyn to Sicily to Malaysia to South Africa.

The Rise of 'Zero-Waste' Grocery Stores

A growing number of supermarkets sell food without packaging in an effort to reduce the toll of plastic on the environment

The interior of a former Wanamaker's (now a Macy's location) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, complete with a 1911 World Fair pipe organ

What a Hundred-Year-Old Department Store Can Tell Us About the Overlap of Retail, Religion and Politics

The legacy left behind by the Philadelphia-based retail chain Wanamaker’s is still felt by shoppers today

"Miss U Already"

Sweethearts Candies Won’t Be Available This Valentine’s Day

Production of the iconic treat ground to a halt after the company that makes them went out of business

The Accidental Invention of Bubble Wrap

Two inventors turned a failed experiment into an irresistibly poppable product that revolutionized the shipping industry

An 1894 advertisement shows the interior of a Pullman dining-car belonging to the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railway. The view through the window depicts the Mosler Safe Company factory in Hamilton, Ohio.

The Rise and Fall of the Sleeping Car King

George Pullman’s unbending business acumen made him a mogul, but also inspired the greatest labor uprising of the 19th century

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