Nike's Phil Knight ran for Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon before they became business partners

Nike started out as a Japanese shoe distributor called Blue Ribbon Sports

Nike cofounder Phil Knight’s first business venture was distributing Onitsuka Tiger running shoes in America. Knight would drive to track meets and sell the shoes out of the back of his car.

Nike only paid $35 for the swoosh—and cofounder Phil Knight didn’t like it at first

A student Nike cofounder Phil Knight met while teaching at Portland State designed the logo for the “Nike” football shoe (the company was still Blue Ribbon Sports at the time). When Phil Knight saw it, he said, “Well, I don’t love it, but it will grow on me.”

Nike cofounder Phil Knight once taught accounting classes at Portland State University

Before Nike took off, Phil Knight taught accounting classes at Portland State. He met two very important people there: his wife Penelope and Carolyn Davidson, who designed Nike’s logo.

The business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports came from a Stanford assignment

Nike cofounder Phil Knight’s original idea was to begin selling Japanese shoes, which were cheaper and just as light and durable as the leading German shoes from Adidas and Puma, at a lower price in the American market. His last assignment in business school at Stanford became the original business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports.

Bill Bowerman got the idea for the breakthrough waffle-knit running shoe from a waffle iron

Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman was trying to find new ways to create traction for his runners on artificial turf. He looked at the waffle iron and realized that the pattern would work for the shoes’ soles.

Bill Bowerman brought running for fitness to America

Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman once cowrote a book with a doctor, W.E. Harris, called “Jogging.” Published in 1967 by New York, Grosset & Dunlap, it introduced America to the idea of running for health, instead of just sport—and kicked off the fitness frenzy of the 1970s that fueled Nike’s early success. (Some readers may experience a paywall).

Nike couldn’t sign legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine due to regulations

Because of amateur running regulations, Prefontaine—who held every American running record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters at the time—couldn’t do a paid endorsement for Nike. So Nike’s Phil Knight decided to give him a $5K yearly stipend and print business cards that said Prefontaine was the “National Director of Public Affairs.” When asked what that meant, Knight said, “it means he can run fast.”

Nike was almost named ‘Dimension Six’

Jeff Johnson, the company’s first full-time employee, said the name came to him in a dream just before Blue Ribbon Sports filed a patent for the “Nike” football shoe. Nike cofounder Phil Knight wanted to name the company “Dimension Six,” but was ultimately convinced that a one-word name would be better. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

One of Nike’s most transformational executives started out as its lawyer

Rob Strasser helped settle a lawsuit against Onitsuka Tiger when Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike and stopped distributing the Japanese shoes. Strasser then became a powerhouse at Nike credited with saving the company from going under in the 1970s, before leaving the company in 1987.

Nike made retailers pay for Air Jordans upfront to guarantee stock

Instead of paying for the inventory sold, Knight locked retailers into iron-clad agreements, where the companies would pay upfront for Nike inventory (but at a 7% discount). Knight did this to leverage debt, allowing retailers a better chance at getting the wildly popular Air Jordans.

Nike went public in 1980, and the first share sold at $22

Nike stock plummeted in the four years that followed the company’s initial public offering (IPO). The company’s deal with Michael Jordan in 1984 ultimately revived investor confidence.

Shaquille O’Neal showed up to a meeting with Nike wearing head-to-toe Reebok

Nike wanted to sign then-newcomer Shaquille O’Neill, but didn’t offer Shaq his own shoe because they had already signed Alonzo Mourning. Shaq said he felt like Nike didn’t understand his potential, and the company wouldn’t have given him as much creative control as Reebok would.

John Foley was the president of e-commerce at Barnes & Noble before founding Peloton

Foley worked for Barnes & Noble during the company's race against Amazon to dominate the e-reader market (Barnes & Noble had the Nook and Amazon had the Kindle). Foley says his time working for Barnes & Noble helped him learn the business of digital media, which is a core element of Peloton's business.

The Wright brothers began as bicycle manufacturers in Dayton, Ohio

In the late 1800s, the duo managed several bike shops in the Dayton, Ohio area, where they would sharpen their teeth in engineering and design. Some of their earliest aviation efforts were funded by their bicycle business and initiated in their bike shops.

Chuck Taylors were once the definitive basketball sneakers

Before Michael Jordan and the Air Jordans became the iconic shoe of the league, Chuck Taylor high tops were considered the best basketball sneaks. Need proof? The 1936 US Olympic team wore matching Converse.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen were childhood friends before founding Microsoft

The two bonded over a teletype terminal at their school, which required a $40 hourly fee for computing time. They were banned from using the device after exploiting a bug that allowed them to bypass the fee, only to be later offered free computing time for finding more bugs.

Bow ties became a Bill Nye wardrobe staple after he took part in an athletic banquet

In high school, boys served as waiters during a ceremony where girls would receive awards for gymnastics, lacrosse, and other sporting events. Wanting to fit the role, Nye's father helped him dress like a waiter, and he continued wearing bow ties upon seeing their practicality in the lab.

How Title IX changed college basketball

Until Title IX was passed in 1972, the NCAA had little interest in women's sports because it didn't see them as profitable. This article explores how the AIAW was formed to govern women's basketball, and the massive fight the NCAA eventually put up to take over in 1982. Read about the legal battles it took, and how much money women's basketball is bringing to the NCAA now.

Many startups now have shoes-off policies

This website keeps track of startups with "no-shoes" offices so you can browse a list of barefoot companies—plus, see which of them are hiring.

How one supplement company cost a short seller $1B

Pershing Square, a hedge fund founded and run by Bill Ackman, put short positions on Herbalife in 2012, because it believed the company was a pyramid scheme. Ackman's longtime rival and legendary investor Carl Icahn began buying Herbalife shares, causing the stock price to rise—ultimately hurting Pershing Square's short position.

Generally, NBA basketball teams whose players touch each other more win more games

This 2010 research finding underscores the importance of touch in promoting trust, bonding, and cooperation, thereby apparently improving team success. Touch also promotes cooperation in other settings: In a separate "prisoner's dilemma" study, when the experimenter gently touched some participants with a quick pat on the back, the touched individuals were more likely to cooperate and share with their partner.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The Beatles sued Apple in 1978 to defend naming rights to their record label

The band created their own record label, Apple Corps, after their manager died in 1967, while the technology company chose the name "Apple" to appear before the video game company Atari in directories. Subsequent lawsuits were not settled until 2007.

The Tony Awards were founded by Brock Pemberton

A Kansas boy who went on to become a groundbreaking Broadway producer, Brock Pemberton is also the founder of the Tony Awards. He went from a prodigious Midwestern newspaper reporter to a New York drama critic and quickly caught the attention of a local producer, who offered Pemberton a job and kick-started his decades-long Broadway career, which included cofounding the influential American Theatre Wing.

Warren Buffett wrote a letter on why a seller should sell his business to his firm

In Berkshire Hathaway's 1990 Annual Letter, Warren Buffett included an edited version of a letter he sent to a man who indicated he might want to sell his family business. This short letter is a masterclass in selling and differentiating your product from the competition.

Learn about the relationship between Thomas Edison and Henry Ford

Despite their 16-year age difference, legendary inventor Thomas Edison and Henry Ford developed a close relationship after meeting at a convention in New York. The two—alongside environmentalist John Burroughs and Harvey Firestone, the founder of Firestone Tire—were known as the "Four Vagabonds" and were famous for their long roadtrips, which were often highly publicized.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.