In this book, several factories and products opened by the protagonist belong to these ten brands, and the success of these brands has distinctive characteristics of the times, which are described in detail below:

Swiss Army Knife

Before the start of the Second World War, the saber developed by the Swiss Karl Elsena had been patented. During World War II, the "Swiss Officers' Knife" was purchased in large quantities by the United States and supplied to the Army Consumer Cooperative. Due to the presence of the U.S. military all over the world during the war, it promoted the widespread spread of the "Swiss officer's knife" around the world. The German pronunciation of the "Swiss Officer's Knife" is "Offiziermesser", which is so awkward that rugged American GIs simply call it "Swissarmyknife", or "Swiss Army Knife", so the abbreviation has become the brand's name.

Camel cigarettes

"Camel" cigarettes are a famous brand in the United States, but it became a world famous brand thanks to two world wars. The outbreak of the First World War brought a sales peak to "Camel". At that time, as part of the supply of the American ** team, "Camel" brand cigarettes were brought to Europe by American soldiers. During World War II, this "camel" followed the US ** team to battlefields around the world. In the brutal war, the tired US officers and men took smoking "Camel" cigarettes as the greatest freedom and happiness, and the "Camel" cigarettes were given a new meaning -- freedom. Later, this meaning was explained more deeply by many Hollywood stars who smoked.

Rolex watches

In the era of mechanical watches, Swiss Rolex has always been a leader in the industry. From the 20s to the 70s of the 20th century, Rolex became a number of milestones in the watch industry.

First of all, the waterproof function was invented in 1926, and then the dustproof and earthquake-resistant functions were developed one after another. This was followed by the successful development of a fully automatic watch by Rolex in 1931. Again, in the last year of World War II, Rolex produced the first watch that could display the date on a dial. Later, in 1955, pilot's watches were produced, allowing pilots to measure precise time in different time zones. In the same year, the Rolex watch for deep-sea divers was introduced, which allowed divers to dive to depths of 330 feet, and by 1971, to 2,000 feet.

Parker pen

George Parker, the founder of Parker Pen, designed and manufactured his own fountain pen, the Parker Pen, with his experience in machinery, and founded the Parker Company in 1888. At the end of World War II, when Japan surrendered, General MacArthur of the United States, the representative of the Allied surrender, signed the instrument of surrender of Japan with a Parker pen.

coca cola

World War II gave Coca-Cola an opportunity to take off. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered the war. Seeing this situation, Coca-Cola President Woodreff immediately proclaimed: "No matter where the U.S. troops go, Coca-Cola will supply Coca-Cola locally at a price of five cents per glass." ”

When the U.S. military returned home with the end of the war, the "Coca-Cola" production equipment left behind became the first local factory to produce "Coca-Cola".

Motorola

By the end of 1940, Motorola's predecessor, Galvin's Manufacturing Company, had produced a five-pound AM walkie-talkie with a distance of 1 mile (1.69 km). Later, a longer range and better antistatic alternative was developed, namely the SCR300tm, a knapsack FM walkie-talkie, which is a tunable high-frequency FM unit that weighs 35 pounds and has a communication distance of 10 miles. The figure of the American signal corps carrying this walkie-talkie has become a classic image of World War II.

nylon

In 1935, DuPont researchers stumbled upon nylon. In 1939, nylon appeared at the New York World's Fair.

During World War II, nylon was classified as a munitions. When department stores began selling this smooth stocking after the war, ladies lined up to buy it, sometimes to the point of madness. It is said that when the first batch of nylon stockings hit the market, 72,000 pairs of stockings were snapped up in a single day. Women couldn't buy stockings, and many people painted lines on their bare legs posing as stockings. At that time, there was a survey of women in the United States, what do they want most? As a result, two-thirds of women choose nylon stockings.

The inventor of nylon later invented synthetic rubber, which was used in large quantities during World War II to produce tires for off-road vehicles. Some people say that these two inventions of DuPont, one conquered the desert fox Rommel, and the other conquered the hearts of women all over the world.

jeep

Nowadays, when people talk about "Jeep", they mostly refer to cars with strong off-road performance. But in fact, "JEEP" is a registered and exclusive trademark. In early 1938, as war began to spread in Europe, the U.S. Army Headquarters asked an automobile manufacturer to design a small, easy-to-operate, durable, and agile off-road truck. In 1941, the first prototype was trial-produced and soon became an important military material for the Soviet Union, Britain, China and other allies. World War II war correspondents described the jeep as omnipotent: "It is as loyal as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as alert as an antelope." Five-star General Marshall hailed the jeep as "America's greatest contribution to World War II." Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower listed the jeep at the top of the list of "the three weapons to win war."

By the end of World War II, the United States had packed more than 600,000 jeeps into crates and shipped them around the world, and jeeps were listed as the number one strategic material sent to the anti-fascist allies under the Concession Act.

Ray-Ban sunglasses

As early as 1930, John Boss and Henri Lambald jointly ran the company, commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Corps, to successfully develop the world's first pair of sunglasses with green lenses that can protect the eyes of pilots, which were popular with American pilots and named "Navigator" by the U.S. Air Force. In 1937, the company officially introduced the glasses to the market and changed its name to "Ray-Ban". "Ray" means glare, "Ban" means blocking, and since then, "Ray-Ban" has gradually become synonymous with sunglasses that block strong light around the world.

At that time, MacArthur, a five-star general in the United States, wore Ray-Ban. During World War II, Ray-Ban lenses were set by the government as the standard for sunglasses. Some even called Ray-Ban one of the heroes of the Allied victory in World War II.

ZIPPO lighter In the early 40s of the 20th century, ZIPPO became the most important product in the United States. When World War II broke out, American soldiers quickly fell in love with it, and it was well known among soldiers for its one-on-the-hit and excellent wind resistance. In fact, the shape of the ZIPPO has not changed much in the 65 years that have passed. To this day, the ZIPPO is still the "queen" lighter of American soldiers, but it is no longer exclusive to them. In 140 countries around the world, ZIPPO is widely used by the people.