We've long admired the engineer and innovation machine James Dyson and his eponymous company, Dyson. Starting with his redesign of the ancient vacuum cleaner he's steadily turned out innovative product.. Then this week we came across news of his wildly popular innovative hair $500 dryer. So, what's happening here? First, we got all nostalgic about the Hoover vacuums of our childhood. We wondered, where's Hoover now. It's not pretty. Hoover has been bought and sold a dizzying number of times by various consumer appliance companies and private equity companies. The sad story of the demise of Hoover is linked below. Michael Hoover, the founders great-grandson said: “The moral of the story is you have to keep innovating,” he said. “If you don’t, then you die. It’s rare for a company to survive for 100 years like that. Maybe this is just what happens.” There's also a Dyson in a garage somewhere. - Sanders DiPiero
Read: Hoover family regrets demise of its iconic vacuum business