10 First Products of Famous Companies

A Brief History

On June 4, 1896, Henry Ford completed his Quadricycle, the first Ford automobile, which he promptly took for a test drive. Almost 120 years later nearly 100 million Ford cars can trace their lineage back to this humble vehicle. Every company has to start somewhere and somehow, and here we list 10 First Products of some of these iconic companies (in no particular order).

Digging Deeper

10. Ford Quadricycle, 1896.

This Granddaddy of all Fords had a 2 cylinder 4 horsepower motor, could seat 2 and rode on bicycle tires. Steering was accomplished by a “tiller” (stick type thing) instead of a steering wheel, and top speed was 20 mph. Ford was 32 years old when he built his first Quadricycle. Ford Motor Company today makes around 5.5 million vehicles per year and brings in revenue of about $144 billion!

9. Boeing Model 1/ B&W Seaplane, 1916.

The first of an airplane lineage that boasts a line of American bombers with no equal and a line of American airliners that sets the standard of the world. This primitive pontoon float plane had a motor that produced 125 horsepower that could take it to a speed of 75 mph. Only 2 were built, named Bluebill and Mallard (both types of ducks), and were sold to New Zealand. Boeing would go on to make the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Superfortress, B-47 Stratojet, and B-52 Stratofortress for the US Air Force (and Army Air Force). Boeing would also go on to make iconic airliners such as the 727, 737 (most produced airliner in history, over 8400 built and still in production), 747, 757, 767, 777 (world’s largest 2 engine jet), and the 787 Dreamliner. They also make helicopters and other products.

8. Volcanic Rifle, 1855.

This innovative firearm is the grandfather of all the Smith & Wesson and Winchester guns to follow. Smith and Wesson started the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company in 1855 to manufacture and sell a lever action repeating rifle using new “Rocket Ball” ammunition (see #7). The partners sold out to Oliver Winchester and the Winchester line of guns and ammo was born. Smith and Wesson later got back together in 1856 under the S&W banner and proceeded to make the first bored through cylinder metallic cartridge revolvers. The S&W Model 1 (how apropos!) used a rimfire .22 caliber round (now known as .22 Short), and became the progenitor of all those great S&W revolvers to follow. (Of course, S&W also developed many other rifles and pistols as well as ammunition.)

7. Rocket Ball Ammunition, 1848.

The first practical self contained cartridge, the Rocket Ball consisted of a hollow lead bullet filled with gunpowder and closed off at the back by a metal cup with a hole in the middle and then developed as the Volcanic Cartridge with the primer attached. This early form of caseless (no brass shell) ammo was used in both single shot breech loading guns and the earliest lever action rifles. This is the earliest example of what came to be developed as our modern cartridges that consist of a brass (or other metal) shell filled with powder, a bullet seated at the front, and either priming powder around the inside of the rim (rimfire) or a primer in the center rear of the shell casing. The Rocket Ball was grossly underpowered due to a lack of sufficient powder capacity. Modern efforts to produce effective caseless ammunition continue, and sooner or later will be the norm. Rocket Ball can be considered the first ammunition product in the long line of Winchester Ammunition.

6. Altair Basic, 1975.

The first product produced by Microsoft, this was an “interpreter” for a computer called Altair 8800 made by MITS. Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen formed Microsoft to produce the Altair BASIC, and the rest is all those software programs and computer products history. Microsoft has an annual revenue of over $86 billion and employees over 128,000 people, all starting with their first product. Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, worth $82 billion, while Allen is ranked as the 51st richest man with over $17 billion.

5. Wham-O Slingshot, 1948.

This wooden handled sling shot was the first product of Wham-O Toys, originally built in the garage of the founders, a pair of under-employed graduates of USC. Showing off their skill with the powerful weapon/toy to market their product, Wham-O went on to buy the rights to market the Hula-Hoop, and later came up with the Frisbee, the Super Ball, and the Slip ‘N’ Slide. Wham-O is now owned by the Aguilar Group after being owned by toy giant, Mattel from 1994-1997. In 1958 and 1959, a total of 100 million Hula-Hoops were sold! Other goofy products have included plastic shark teeth (to take advantage of the 1975 movie, Jaws), Silly String, Monster Magnet, Wheelie Bar (for bicycles), Super Stuff, Hacky Sack, Magic Sand, Boogie Board and Instant Fish.

4. Banking, 1883.

The first of a staggering 1800 games produced by Parker Brothers, a game manufacturer, notable classics such as Rook (card game 1906), Sorry (1934), Monopoly (1935), Clue (1949), and Risk (1959). They even made video games such as Frogger. The company was eventually acquired by Hasbro in 1991, and in 2013 Hasbro deleted the Parker Brothers name from the games. PB also published children’s books featuring Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears.

3. Veg-O-Matic, 1964.

Invented by his father, Samuel Popeil, Ron Popeil started selling this and other daddy invented stuff under the name Ronco, his own company. Ron Popeil became the first of the famous television pitch men selling gadgets on infomercials, bringing phrases to the American lexicon such as “Set it and forget it,” “But wait, there’s more!” and “As Seen on TV.” The Pocket Fisherman, Dial-A-Matic, Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, 5 in 1 Turkey Fryer & Food Cooking System are examples of these television products we have watched him so enthusiastically sell. Ron Popeil has often been parodied on cartoons and television shows, including Saturday Night Live.

2. Industrial Pigments, 1885.

Before Crayola became synonymous with “crayons” they were a company called Binney & Smith that sold industrial pigments. Crayons were added to the product list in 1903, and the first dustless variety of white chalk in 1904. The Crayola name was invented by the wife of co-founder Edwin Binney, and the “ola” part of the name became a popular suffix for all sorts of products. Crayola Crayons were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998, and the company changed its name to Crayola in 2007. The wonderful box of 64 different colored crayons was my Holy Grail throughout my elementary school years, but alas, I never was one of the lucky kids that had one! Crayola has had the rights to Silly Putty since 1977, and makes a variety of colored pens, pencils, markers and art materials.

1. Corundum and Sand Paper, 1902.

3M, famous for making Scotch Brand tapes of all sorts, started out as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, attempting to mine corundum. Failing at that, they quickly switched to sand paper and after struggling found success after several years. Their famous Scotch Tape, introduced in 1930 is their best known product, but they make and have made a tremendous variety of things, from grinding wheels to tape player/recorders, adhesives, abrasives, Post-It notes, photographic film, data storage, car care products (such as Meguiar’s, Bondo, etc), and pharmaceuticals. Products such as Scotchgard and Scotch-Brite are household names, and the list goes on for an amazing amount and variety of products.

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