Sometimes a small change can bring huge benefits. Don’t believe it, give me an example. I once read a story about toothpaste. Originally, the opening of the toothpaste was very small and had to be squeezed out many times. Later, someone suggested that the opening be expanded by one centimeter, which resulted in more than hundreds of millions in sales. This issue of foreign celebrity stories tells the story of toothbrushes.
In 1987, two postmen in Virginia, USA, Tom Coleman and Bill Schlott, accidentally saw a child holding a fluorescent stick that glowed green. Instead of laughing it off like other adults, the two of them immediately began to wonder. This thing looked interesting, but what use could it be used for? The two men began to think wildly. Finally they caught one of the bright ideas and put lollipops on top of glow sticks. In this way, light will pass through the translucent candy, showing a magical effect, which is even more obvious at night.
The two men subsequently applied for a patent and sold their patent for the light-up lollipop to the American Cape Candy Company.
This is just the prelude to the legend. The two postmen continued to think about it: it was very difficult to lick the lollipop. After a long time, the child's cheeks became sore before the candy was finished. If the lollipop could spin by itself, wouldn't it be labor-saving and fun? So they installed a self-rotating stand for the lollipop. The battery drove a small motor to rotate the candy through a pinion.
John Osher, the leader of the Cape Candy Company, took over this magical rotating baton and created even greater miracles. He left Cape Candy after the company was acquired and began looking for new problems he could solve with rotary motors.
He and his friends went to the local Wal-Mart supermarket to find inspiration. When they passed the product shelves, they saw electric toothbrushes from many brands, each priced at more than $50. They also learned that sales of electric toothbrushes were small because the price was too high. But using their spinning lollipop technology, it only costs $5 to make an electric toothbrush.
But Procter & Gamble ended the contract with the three Oshers 21 months in advance because the multinational company found that the rotating electric toothbrush was too good to sell, far exceeding their expectations. This product is sold in 35 countries around the world through Wal-Mart, becoming the fastest-selling product sweeping the global market. This means that the money P&G will pay to the three Oshers after the contract expires will be far more than expected.
In the end, Osher and his two partners received a lump sum of US$310 million. Including the original advance payment of 165 million British dollars, the total is 475 million U.S. dollars. This is an astronomical figure that makes the inventor dizzy. But it all started with a small green glow stick on the side of the road.