6 Fanta is available in more than hundreds of flavors, including “Mushroom,” “Red Tangerine,” “Lychee Soursop,” and “Banana Fermented Milk.”

Fanta is a term that is synonymous with its color orange and its trademark, fruity flavor. It is a fruit-flavored carbonated drink manufactured by Coca-Cola. The drink was created in Germany during World War II under trade embargo. According to sources, the name and its flavor was the result of an intense brainstorming session. The initial concoction was made out of available leftovers such as whey and apple pomace.

There are more than 90 flavors of Fanta available worldwide. Countries such as Albania, Turkey, and Sweden boast of having “Fanta Shokata” made from elderflower blossom extract. In Japan, the company released a quirky “Chilly Tangerine” flavor. Moreover, the company has released a myriad of quirky flavors such as “Mushroom,” “Lychee Soursop,” and “Banana Fermented Milk.” (1, 2)

7 In 1994, IBM released a cell phone with touch screen and e-mail. It could send and receive faxes and work as a pager. It was considered to be the “world’s first smartphone” due to its advanced features and capabilities.

IBM is an American multinational company famous for producing and selling computer hardware, middleware, and software. It is astonishing to note that the company in 1994 sold a cell phone dubbed as “world’s first smartphone.” The cell phone, named “IBM Simon,” was a handheld, touchscreen, personal device and was assembled by Mitsubishi Electric.

IBM Simon was dubbed as the first smartphone due to its advanced features. It was the first personal device that incorporated the features of a cell phone and a PDA. Furthermore, it included telephony features, email exchange, cellular pages, calendar, address book, maps, stock, and news. The company sold an estimated 50,000 units within a year. However, the only drawback was the battery life only lasted for an hour. (source)

8 The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser-pointer for $14.83 to someone who kept a broken laser-pointer collection.

Anyone can buy and sell an array of products such as electronics, collectibles, cars, and everything else on eBay. The first product to be sold on eBay was a broken laser-pointer pen. The broken pen was sold by the founder of the site, Pierre Omidyar, on Labor Day weekend in 1995. Pierre was testing his site and toyed with the idea of auctioning his broken laser-pointer.

Shortly after posting, he was left in disbelief when a customer purchased the broken laser-pointer for a bid of $14.83. He contacted the customer to let him know that he had purchased a damaged product. However, the buyer clarified that he was an avid collector of laser-pointers and was very satisfied with his purchase. This conversation paved the way and propelled eBay to become the world’s largest marketplace for selling literally everything. (1, 2)

9 Coca-Cola never patented their “secret formula” because otherwise, they would be required to disclose it to the public.

Coca-Cola’s formula is considered to be the “world’s most-guarded secret.” The formula is closely guarded in a custom-built vault at the company’s headquarter in Atlanta. Even the employees who have access to the vault have to pass through rigorous safety measures that include palm scanners, keypads, and a massive steel door. The company has this safety mechanism in place since they never patented their “secret formula” that is written down on a piece of paper.

According to the Intellectual Property Rights rules, once a product is patented, the recipe along with ingredients must be disclosed after a period of 20 years. Why would the food giant disclose their recipe for a short-protection period? To guard their secret, the company has heavily invested in its trademark’s secret by increasing its production scale. Rather than applying for a patent, the company filed for trade secret since its lifetime is infinite. (1, 2)

10 BMW holds the world record for longest (water-assisted) drift at 232.5 miles in which they performed a mid-drift while refueling five times breaking a second record for longest “twin vehicle drift.”

In 2018, BWM broke a world record for performing the longest, water assisted drift. The feat was performed by BMW M5 and took nearly eight hours to complete 374.1 kilometers. The incredible feat was performed by BMW Performance Driving School instructor Johan Schwartz. The drift was carried out on a skid pad that was kept damp to facilitate the lengthy drift. The previous record was held by a Toyota GT86 that covered 144.12 kilometers. Initially, Schwartz had intended to do only 549 laps but ended up performing 2,000 laps.

The car was refueled five times while in mid-drift by another experienced driver. The support vehicle had to drift alongside to fuel the car with the help of the additional gasoline tank mounted in the car’s trunk. Additionally, by performing the refueling feat, the company broke another world record for the world’s longest “Twin-Vehicle Drift” (water-assisted). This was achieved by two BMW M5s drifting 79.26 km (49.25 miles) over the course of an hour. Thus, BMW managed to bag two world records in a single day by performing this marvelous feat. (1, 2)