06. February 2023

18. December 2022

The earliest form of football has actually been recognized by FIFA as the Chinese game of Cuju or Tsu' Chu (蹴鞠), dating back to the 3rd century BC. A competitive form of Cuju was already used then as fitness training for soldiers, while other forms were played for entertainment.

14. November 2022

The Quaker Oats trademark was registered in 1877 by Henry Seymour, an Ohio milling company owner. In 1901 his former company was merged with several other producers under the newly formed Quaker Oats Company, founded by Henry Parsons Crowell, and soon started to sell its products internationally through global distribution networks. In 1908, Quaker Oats introduced the first in a series of cookie recipes on the box and the iconic cylindrical package made its first appearance in 1915.

11. April 2022

The Cycle brand was created in the early 1900s during the days of the American Bicycle Boom - a no-brainer for Big Tobacco to associate itself with the corresponding health benefits. In China Cycle was distributed by Enterprise Tobacco Co, Ltd. (和泰烟有限公司), part of the British American Tobacco (BAT) cigarette behemoth. The Chinese name is a direct translation using the now old-fashioned term 自由车, which translates to any sort of bike but comes with a nice spin as the literal...

25. October 2021

"Wise men all choose to smoke Pirate cigarettes". They apparently are also awesome at basketball... 1930s ad poster from British American Tobacco (BAT) brand Pirate cigarettes.

04. October 2021

When British Lever Brothers launched Lifebuoy soap in 1894, it was with a mission to ‘make cleanliness commonplace’. This was important because in Victorian England infectious diseases were the number one cause of death. Lifebuoy came to the rescue with an effective antibacterial soap which was affordable and widely available. The company first entered China in 1911 when the newly created 'Lever Brothers China' - or LBC (利华肥皂有限公司) took over from treaty port agents the...

28. September 2020

From the middle of the 19th century, preventing dangerous diseases caused by polluted water, such as typhus or cholera, was a great concern to many people, not only in Vienna. Only few households had a guaranteed supply of clean water. One was in danger despite or perhaps especially because of having an own well. The pollution increased as the population grew and the first supply networks did not suffice in the least. In 1873, the first spring water line supplied pure water to many Viennese...