Page 32 - Business Facts

Barbie and Ken got their names from the creator’s children, Barbara and Kenneth!

Barbie is the most famous doll in the world. Ruth Handler was a Denver born businesswoman in 1959 who began the Barbie enterprise. At the time, paper dolls were very popular among American girls. While in Germany, Handler ran into a 3D molded doll. It inspired her to start her own version of dolls back home in the U.S. She named her doll collection after her daughter, Barbara. 

Barbie’s forever boyfriend, Ken, was named after Handler’s son, Kenneth. The Barbie dolls shot Mattel to international prominence. Incidentally, Mattel was originally a picture framing company started by Handler’s husband. Ruth went on to be in charge of the company entirely and died in 2002. 

Her daughter, Barbara, is still very involved in the company. She even told her story on Oprah. At the taping, she presented Oprah with a one of the kind “Oprah” Barbie doll. 

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The average German eats more than twice as chocolate per year as the average American.

The average German eats 114 chocolate bars a year, whereas an average American eats 51. This is a fact that’s been circulated as the silver lining of American obesity for some time. Because despite the fact that 68.8% of Americans are overweight or obese, at the end of the day we still don’t consume the most chocolate. So we can still pocket a win in that health category. 

According to data from the International Cocoa Organization, the European Union Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit, and Confectionery Industries, and the International Confectionery Association, it’s indeed Germany at number one. Still, 51 bars of chocolate every year sounds pretty high. 

Do you have a chocolate bar every week, or 4-5 every month? That’s pretty much what it amounts to. The average German takes out 25.1 pounds of chocolate every year, or 114 bars, on average. As for the US, we’re in 12th place, at 11.2 pounds of chocolate a year. 

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One can potentially go to Harvard Business School for free.

All incoming students to Harvard Business School are offered a fellowship that covers tuition, health fees, and a living stipend. For the 2012-2013 year, that’s $38,700. For now, it’s expected that this will continue for no more than five years, and like all financial aid, the benefits are reliant upon a student’s good academic progress. 

It’s an impressive thing to consider in the US, that a Business school would offer for students to be able to attend for free. Though in many other countries like Finland and Brazil free college is the norm, in the US , MBAs typically must be paid for at the expense of the student, or some other form of financing. There are numerous for-profit colleges too in the US, which some say the existence of is a poor reflection on the state of our education system. 

With the rising tuition costs and the inescapability of increasing student loans, some level of free education would be nice to see in more places. If you’ve ever considered a career in business, perhaps Harvard would be the right direction to head in. 

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BMW recalled its GPS systems with female voices in Germany due to sexism!

BMW allegedly had to recall its GPS systems, because German men refused to take directions from a female voice. We’ve all gotten used to the automated voice, and it is normally a British woman’s voice for some reason. We blindly follow her instructions and talk back to her.

A communications professor from Stanford University claimed in his book, “The Man Who Lied To His Laptop,” that BMW had to recall their GPS systems, because German men didn’t welcome being directed by a female. 

Apparently, BMW received countless angry calls about the female voice, when the GPS first came out. It was explained to the customers that the female voice wasn’t a real female in the car. It was also explained that the system was designed and the directions made by men. 

The people didn’t care and demanded the voice be changed. Apparently it is a widespread problem and men don’t want to be told directions by a woman. They feel more confident hearing it said in a man’s voice. 

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A Wyoming town was sold for $900,000!

A town in Wyoming with just one resident was sold for $900,000 after 11 minutes on Ebay to a Vietnamese buyer! The town of Buford, Wyoming consists of 10 acres with a convenience store, gas station, and modular home. It is located in southeastern Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie. 

The town has one resident, Don Sammons, who is a janitor and the town’s mayor. He moved to Buford in 1980 with his wife. Six years after she passed away, he bought the town in 1992. It was the nation’s smallest town. 

Sammons decided to sell it. The town was put up for auction on Ebay. There were viewers and bidders from 46 different countries taking part in the auction. A Vietnamese buyer, who requested to stay anonymous, bought the town for $900,000 in just 11 minutes. 

The buyer said it was their dream to own land in the U.S. Sammons was happy to sell the place and move on to bigger adventures. The 61 year old mayor couldn’t be happier with the results of the auction.

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