Special Sub-Topic: American Big Business: Part 2 Click Here To Play: American Big Business: Part 2

This washing machine company was founded in 1893 in Newton, Iowa by a farm implement company. One of their first power washers used farm machine engines. Ol'Lonely, the repairman always seems to have nothing to do.

Maytag. Maytag also owns Amana, Magic Chef, Jade and Hoover floor care products.

Started as Waterbury Clock, this company made the very popular Yankee pocket watch, then during WW1 they retooled it and made it into a wrist watch. Today you can pay for your gas and McDonald's purchases with this Speedpass enabled watch.

Timex. In 1933 Timex started making Mickey Mouse watches and clocks under an exclusive license from Walt Disney. They sold for $1.50.

This cup company got it start in 1908 when two Boston, Massachusetts men invented a paper cup they called Health Kup. They benefitted from health campaigns and laws enacted to abolish the use of common drinking glasses in schools, offices, railroads and other public places.

Dixie. Now under parent company, Georgia Pacific, Dixie has since grown to become a powerhouse brand in food service disposables: cups, plates and bowls, cutlery, food wraps, cartons and trays, and many other items.

A maker of lawn mowers since 1935, this company was founded to build tractor engines for the Bull Tractor Co. in 1914.

Toro. In 1921, Toro created the first mechanical golf course maintenance equipment by mounting five lawn mowers behind a Toro tractor to mow the fairways at Minikahda Country Club in Minnesota.

Lynchburg, Tennessee is home to this whiskey distillery. Home to Old No. 7 Whiskey, made the same way as its founder did way back in 1866. The square bottle was a way the owner tried to separate it from other whiskies.

Jack Daniels. In 1895, a salesman with Illinois Alton Glass Company showed Mr. Jack a unique, new, untested bottle design - a square bottle with a fluted neck. More than 100 years later, the square bottle remains a symbol for Jack Daniel's quality - full of character, just like the whiskey it holds. And proving once and for all that it's hip to be square.

Back in 1934 an English immigrant named William J. Riley committed himself to helping people with problem feet. Arch supports were the main focus of this company until "The Trackster" was invented. The worlds 1st performance running shoe. Today this company is a leader in the athletic footwear industry.

New Balance. "Endorsed By No One™" is their trademark. Instead of paying celebrities to tell you how great New Balance products are, they invest in research, design, and domestic manufacturing and let their products speak for themselves.

This shaver company started when its founder applied in 1919 for patents on his newly developed electromagnetic hair clipper. The Sterling, Illinois company has been leading the way to shave ever since.

Wahl. Creative hairstyling trends of the 90's led Wahl's Professional and Consumer Divisions to develop tools for cutting and maintaining special shapes and designs in the hair. These products were known in the trade as Hair Doodles and Cool Cuts.

Shooting the bull at the office copier in the morning? Did you know that this company that makes copiers could have been the Microsoft of today? Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, it is No.116 among the Fortune 500.

Xerox. Back before Microsoft had windows, Xerox came up with the idea. Seems the big guys on the East Coast thought that their West Coast counterparts were airhead surfer boys. "No one will buy a computer with a mouse" they thought. They made them get rid of the idea. They gave it to Apple computers. Bill Gates got his hands on the idea and the rest is history.

Maybe it wasn't the copier you're hanging around in the morning. If it is this coffee maker you'll be interested to know that this German company has its US headquarters in Florida and its plant is in New Jersey. A German housewife had a revolutionary idea. Use paper to filter out unwanted residue.

Melitta. In 1908, Melitta Bentz, a housewife from Dresden, Germany punctured the bottom of a brass pot and lined it with blotting paper taken from the notebook of her oldest son. Perfectly filtered coffee -- without bitterness and grounds -- dripped out of the bottom

With the slogan "you press the button, we do the rest," this Rochester, New York company put the first simple camera into the hands of a world of consumers in 1888. In so doing, they made a cumbersome and complicated process easy to use and accessible to nearly everyone.

Kodak. Digital photography has taken over they way people take pictures. Kodak has had to change to keep up with the changes.