Correct: B. A Siren

The globally recognized Starbucks logo features a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. When the company was founded in Seattle in 1971, the founders wanted a nautical theme to honor the city's seafaring history and the historical coffee trade. They found a 16th-century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed siren and adapted it to serve as the brand's seductive mascot, implying that their coffee was as irresistible as a siren's song.

Correct: C. To distinguish it from a cherry

The iconic Apple logo, designed by Rob Janoff in 1977, features a simple apple silhouette with a distinctive bite taken out of the right side. While there are many popular urban legendssuch as it being a tribute to Alan Turing's poisoned apple or a clever visual pun on the computer term 'byte'Janoff has explicitly stated the reason was purely practical. The bite was included solely to ensure that the silhouette looked exactly like an apple, rather than a cherry or a tomato, when printed at very small sizes.

Correct: C. Cocaine

When John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886, he marketed it as a patent medicine and nerve tonic. The original recipe contained an extract of coca leaves, meaning that early versions of the soda did indeed contain small amounts of cocaine, alongside caffeine derived from the kola nut (hence the name Coca-Cola). The company began using 'decocainized' coca leaves in 1903 after public sentiment turned heavily against the drug, completely eliminating the narcotic from the beverage.

Correct: A. Runic initials

The Bluetooth wireless technology standard is named after King Harald 'Bluetooth' Gormsson, a 10th-century Viking king who famously united the disparate tribes of Denmark and Norway. In 1997, engineers at Intel and Ericsson chose the name as a temporary placeholder because the technology was intended to similarly unite different deviceslike PCs and cellular phoneswith a universal communication protocol. The iconic Bluetooth logo is actually a bind rune, merging the Younger Futhark runes for Harald's initials: Hagall () and Bjarkan ().

Correct: B. A death row convict

Dan Wieden, the co-founder of the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, revealed that the phrase was inspired by the last words of Gary Gilmore, who said 'Let's do it' before his execution in 1977. Wieden changed it slightly to 'Just Do It' to provide a more motivational and forceful tone for the brand's new campaign. The slogan is now considered one of the most successful and recognizable in marketing history, helping Nike pivot from a niche running brand to a global powerhouse.

Correct: B. Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott, fresh off the success of 'Blade Runner,' was chosen to bring the dystopian vision of George Orwell's 1984 to life for Apple's landmark television spot. The commercial depicted a colorful athlete throwing a hammer through a screen showing a 'Big Brother' figure, symbolizing the Macintosh as a tool for liberation from corporate conformity. It is widely regarded as a watershed moment in advertising, proving that the Super Bowl could be a premiere event for high-concept brand storytelling.

Correct: B. Red Bull

Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz discovered Krating Daeng while traveling in Thailand and partnered with its creator, Chaleo Yoovidhya, to bring a modified version to the international market. The name 'Krating Daeng' literally means 'Red Gaur' or 'Red Bull' (a Gaur is a large bovine native to South Asia). The brand effectively created the modern energy drink category by marketing it as a premium lifestyle product associated with extreme sports.

Correct: B. She was bare-chested

The original Starbucks logo was a brown woodcut of a Norse siren, which the founders chose to evoke the seafaring history of coffee and Seattle's roots as a port city. In the early versions, the siren was depicted with exposed breasts and a fully visible double tail, which was eventually simplified and covered by hair in later redesigns to make it more 'family-friendly.' The logo has transitioned from brown to green over the decades, becoming one of the most recognizable corporate symbols in the world.

Correct: B. Brad's Drink

Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist in North Carolina, originally sold 'Brad's Drink' at his soda fountain to compete with the rising popularity of Coca-Cola. He renamed it Pepsi-Cola in 1898, claiming it helped with 'dyspepsia' (indigestion) and contained the digestive enzyme pepsin. The brand became a massive rival to Coke, famously using the 'Pepsi Challenge' in the 1970s to gain market share.

Correct: B. It was the fifth sample presented to her by the perfumer

Perfumer Ernest Beaux presented Coco Chanel with several numbered samples of scent compositions in 1921. She chose the fifth one because it perfectly captured the complexity and modernity she wanted for her brand. She also believed the number 5 brought her good luck, leading her to launch the perfume on the fifth day of the fifth month.

Correct: B. Patagonia

Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, announced that 'Earth is now our only shareholder' by giving away the $3 billion company to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. This move ensures that all profits not reinvested into the business will be used to protect the planet and combat the climate crisis. Patagonia has long been a pioneer in corporate environmentalism, famously running an ad titled 'Don't Buy This Jacket' to discourage over-consumption.

Correct: B. The Bic Cristal ballpoint pen

The Bic Cristal was designed to be a simple, reliable, and extremely cheap writing instrument that anyone could afford. Baron Marcel Bich purchased the patent for the ballpoint pen from Lszl Br and refined the manufacturing process to produce them in massive quantities. Its clear hexagonal barrel allowed users to see how much ink was left, a design that has remained virtually unchanged for over 70 years.

Correct: B. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs had purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm in 1986 and turned it into Pixar, eventually making it the world's premier digital animation studio. The 2006 acquisition by Disney for $7.4 billion solved a long-standing tension between the two companies and revitalized Disney's own animation department. As a result of the stock swap, Steve Jobs became a billionaire many times over through his Disney holdings.

Correct: B. Gillette

King Camp Gillette popularized the model of selling a durable product (the razor handle) at a low priceor even giving it awayto lock customers into buying high-margin consumables (the blades) for years. This strategy is now common across many industries, including printers (cheap hardware, expensive ink) and video game consoles. It focuses on long-term customer lifetime value rather than a single high-profit sale.

Correct: B. Jane Birkin

In 1981, Jane Birkin was sitting next to Herms CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight when the contents of her straw bag spilled out. She complained that she couldn't find a leather weekend bag she liked, so Dumas designed one on the spot based on her needs. Today, the Birkin is the ultimate symbol of 'stealth wealth,' with some bags retailing for hundreds of thousands of dollars and having long waiting lists.

Correct: B. Blue Ribbon Sports

Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) in 1964 to sell Onitsuka Tiger running shoes from Japan. When the relationship with Onitsuka soured, they decided to manufacture their own shoes and needed a new name. 'Nike,' the Greek goddess of victory, was suggested by their first employee, Jeff Johnson, and the famous 'Swoosh' logo was designed by a student for only $35.

Correct: A. The number 666 in Hebrew

The theory suggests that each mark is the Hebrew letter 'Vav,' which has a numerical value of six, effectively making the logo '666.' However, the design was created by McLean Design as a simple, aggressive representation of the brand's 'Monster' identity. The company has consistently denied any hidden meanings, but the rumor remains a staple of internet folklore and moral panics.

Correct: B. De Beers

De Beers launched a massive campaign to link diamonds with eternal love and marriage, effectively creating the modern engagement ring tradition. Before this campaign, diamonds were not considered a standard requirement for engagements, and their value was much more volatile. The slogan is now considered one of the most successful ever written, helping De Beers maintain a near-monopoly on the diamond market for decades.

Correct: B. Adolf Hitler

Hitler wanted a 'People's Car' (Volkswagen) that could carry two adults and three children at 100 km/h and be affordable for German families. He commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to design the car, which eventually became the iconic Beetle. After World War II, the car became a global symbol of the 1960s counter-culture and remains a landmark of industrial design.

Correct: B. From women's to masculine

Marlboro was originally marketed as a 'mild' cigarette for women, with the slogan 'Mild as May.' To appeal to men who were becoming interested in filtered cigarettes for health reasons, the brand introduced the rugged cowboy figure. This shift was so successful that Marlboro quickly became the best-selling cigarette brand in the world.

Correct: A. Croslite

Croslite is a non-toxic, odor-resistant, and lightweight material that molds to the wearer's feet and is the reason for the shoes' unique comfort and durability. Originally designed as a boating shoe, Crocs became a massive 'love-it-or-hate-it' fashion phenomenon in the mid-2000s. The brand has seen a massive resurgence in recent years through high-profile collaborations with celebrities and luxury designers.

Correct: B. Hennes

Erling Persson opened the first store in Vsters, Sweden, and named it 'Hennes,' which is Swedish for 'Hers.' In 1968, he acquired the hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss, leading to the inclusion of menswear and the renaming of the brand to Hennes & Mauritz, later shortened to H&M. The company pioneered the 'global fast fashion' model alongside rivals like Zara.

Correct: A. twttr

The original name 'twttr' was inspired by the five-character length of American SMS short codes and the then-popular trend of removing vowels in tech names (like Flickr). The name was changed to Twitter six months after launch once the company was able to purchase the domain twitter.com. The platform's 140-character limit was also a direct result of the constraints of mobile text messaging at the time.

Correct: A. Isaac Newton

The first Apple logo, designed by co-founder Ronald Wayne, featured Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, framed by a quote from Wordsworth. Steve Jobs felt the design was too complex and 'intellectual,' leading him to commission Rob Janoff to create the simpler bitten apple logo in 1977. The 'bite' was added specifically so the logo wouldn't be mistaken for a cherry or a tomato at small sizes.

Correct: B. Backrub

Larry Page and Sergey Brin originally named their search engine 'Backrub' because of its ability to analyze the 'back links' to determine the importance of a website. They eventually changed it to Google, a play on the word 'googol' (the number 1 followed by 100 zeros), to signify their mission to organize a vast amount of information. The company was incorporated in 1998, and the rest is history.

Correct: B. AuctionWeb

AuctionWeb was launched as a side project on Omidyar's personal website to see if an automated auction system could work for consumers. The first item ever sold was a broken laser pointer, which Omidyar confirmed the buyer knew was broken before completing the sale. The site was rebranded as eBay in 1997 after Omidyar's preferred name, Echo Bay, was already taken.

Correct: B. Kickstarter

Peloton's 2013 Kickstarter campaign helped the company secure its first batch of customers and prove there was a market for high-end, connected home fitness. Founders John Foley and his team faced hundreds of rejections from traditional VCs before the company became a multi-billion dollar giant. The brand's success is built on its 'community' feel, where instructors become celebrities in their own right.

Correct: B. Grey Goose

Sidney Frank realized that consumers were willing to pay more for a spirit that looked and felt 'super-premium,' so he outsourced the production to the Cognac region of France. Every aspect of the brand, from the frosted glass bottle to the claim that it is 'the world's best-tasting vodka,' was part of a calculated marketing blitz. He eventually sold the brand to Bacardi in 2004 for a record-breaking $2 billion.

Correct: B. To encourage people to drive their cars more often and wear out their tires

The Michelin brothers launched the first Michelin Guide in 1900 as a way to provide motorists with maps, gas station locations, and hotel lists to encourage more road travel. In 1926, they began awarding single stars for 'fine dining,' which expanded to the three-star system in 1931. A three-star rating means the restaurant is 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.'

Correct: B. Dry writing

Chemist Chester Carlson invented the process of dry photocopying in 1938, which he named 'xerography' (from xeros meaning 'dry' and graphein meaning 'writing'). This was a radical departure from the messy, wet chemical duplication methods used at the time. The Haloid Company, which later became Xerox, took a huge risk on the technology and released the 914 copier in 1959, which became one of the most successful products in history.

Correct: A. Service Games

SEGA was founded in 1940 as 'Service Games' in Honolulu, Hawaii, primarily to provide coin-operated amusements like jukeboxes and slot machines to U.S. military bases. The company moved its headquarters to Tokyo in 1951 and later merged with Rosen Enterprises, adopting the shortened name SEGA. It became a global powerhouse in the 80s and 90s with the Genesis console and the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

Correct: B. Go

Founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney chose the name 'Atari' from the Japanese strategy game Go, where it refers to a situation where a player's pieces are in danger of being captured (similar to 'check' in chess). They originally wanted to call the company 'Syzygy,' but that name was already taken. Atari became an icon of the 1970s and 80s by bringing arcade hits like Pong into the home.

Correct: B. Price Club

Sol Price founded Price Club in 1976 in San Diego, creating the 'membership warehouse' model where businesses and individuals could buy items in bulk for deep discounts. James Sinegal, a former Price Club executive, co-founded Costco in 1983, and the two companies eventually merged in 1993. Costco is now famous for its 'treasure hunt' atmosphere and its legendary $1.50 hot dog combo.

Correct: B. Walgreens

In 1922, Walgreens employee Ivar 'Pop' Coulson added two scoops of vanilla ice cream to a standard malted milk drink, creating the modern malted milkshake. This invention became a massive draw for the chain's soda fountains, which helped the company thrive during the Prohibition era. Walgreens eventually transitioned from general stores with lunch counters to the pharmacy-focused retail giant we see today.

Correct: B. He was embarrassed to buy lingerie for his wife in department stores

Roy Raymond felt that the lingerie sections of major department stores were 'unwelcoming' to men and often featured unattractive, utilitarian products. He opened the first Victoria's Secret store in San Francisco in 1977, designed with a Victorian boudoir aesthetic to make the experience more comfortable and upscale. He eventually sold the company to Les Wexner's L Brands in 1982 for $1 million.