Page 53 - Business Facts

The author of the internet-censoring SOPA bill would be in violation if it were to pass!

Lamar Smith is a congressman from Texas and the author of the Stop Online Piracy Bill. We've covered SOPA before (here, and here). 

As you've probably heard, most internet companies are in an uproar about the restrictive nature of this legislation, which would put the US on par with the most restrictive regimens in the world when it comes to the internet.

The website Vice did some investigating, and they found that the congressman's website is using a photo without the consent of the man who took the photograph. This means that under the rules of SOPA, the photographer could order Internet service providers to block the congressman's website for violating his copyright!

We know we've been harping on this, but it's important that everyone recognizes how bad this legislation is for the average internet user.

Check out Vice's report here and the petition against SOPA here

Wrigley's Gum got started as a freebie given away with Baking Soda

William Wrigley Jr. settled in Chicago in 1891. He was only 29 and wanted to build a company. His father was a scrubbing soap manufacturer. So when he moved to Chicago, he started selling his father's soap.

To incentivize people to buy his soap, he started giving out a can of baking soda along with it. When the baking soda proved to be more popular than the soap, he decided to switch to selling baking soda full time.

History has a funny way of repeating itself. Someone suggested that Wrigley give away a couple of packs of bubble gum with each baking soda purchase. Eventually the bubble gum became so popular, Wrigley switched to bubble gum full time. 

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You can't find a dead mouse in your Mt. Dew. It can dissolve them. At least according to Pepsi!

A man was suing PepsiCo for having found a dead mouse inside a can of Mountain Dew. PepsiCo's defense? That's not possible. Mountain Dew would dissolve a dead mouse. 

According to the testimony of a scientist that Pepsi submitted, Mountain Dew is so 'extreme' that it would have made the mouse carcass into something resembling jelly.

Soon after that testimony was submitted, Pepsi changed lawyers in the case. Have you found anything weird in your food? Let us know in the comments.

Update: It seems that some food experts think that a mouse actually dissolving might not be so possible. Even if it's not true, it's still a headscratcher how PepsiCo would use such a bizarre defense in court! Read about that here

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The inventor of Vaseline claimed that he ate a spoonful of it every morning!

Sir Robert Chesebrough, a chemist, was the one who invented Vaseline, also known as petroleum jelly. He patented the product in 1872.

The product wasn’t accepted until he travelled around New York doing demonstrations on himself. He would burn his skin with acid or an open flame in front of an audience and then use the Vaseline to soothe the burn. He passed out free samples to get the product into the public.

He believed in his product so much that he claimed to even eat a spoonful every morning.

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A Barbie doll was sold for $302,500!

This rare Barbie was designed by jewelry designer Stefano Canturi and features a one carat pink diamond, 3 carats of white diamonds, and a diamond ring on her right hand! 100% of the proceeds from the Barbie doll was donated for research to breast cancer.

The doll is currently touring around the world throughout Las Vegas, London, and Shanghai! The previous record for most expensive Barbie goes to 1965's 'Midnight Red' Barbie at $17,091!

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