Clue 1 · The Basics
U.S. industrial conglomerate · mega-cap · listed on the NYSE · headquartered in Minnesota.
Clue 2 · The Numbers
Revenue of roughly $35 billion a year across tens of thousands of products — the company literally counts its product lines in the tens of thousands and holds over 100,000 patents in its history.
Clue 3 · The History
Founded in 1902 near Lake Superior, it started as a mining company trying to sell corundum — the venture flopped, so it pivoted to making sandpaper and never looked back.
Clue 4 · The Secret
Its legendary internal policy once encouraged engineers to spend 15% of their work time on passion projects — a rule that quietly birthed some of the most iconic office products ever made.
Clue 5 · The Lore
A lab accident in the 1970s produced a glue that was too weak to be useful — years later that flaw became the basis for one of the best-selling stationery products in history.
Clue 6 · The Giveaway
You've touched their products today: the yellow sticky note on your monitor, the Scotch tape on your desk, and probably a bandage on your finger — all from the same Minnesota company named after a three-word mining claim.