General Motors
May 31, 2008
General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, is a multinational corporation founded in 1908, and is headquartered in the United States. GM is the world’s largest automaker and has been the global industry sales leader in each of the last 77 calendar years, although Toyota recorded higher sales figures in the first quarter of 2008. General Motors, today employs about 284,000 people around the world. It manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 different countries and sells them under the brands of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. As of 2007, General Motors is the fifth largest company in the world (behind Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP, ranked by revenue on the Fortune Global 500 list.)
In 1884, a patent for "flaked cereal" was applied for by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. He was trying to improve the vegetarian diet of his hospital patients, by searching for a digestible bread-substitute by the process of boiling wheat. Kellogg accidentally left a pot of boiled wheat to stand and become tempered. When it was put through a rolling process, each grain of wheat emerged as a large, thin flake. When the flakes were baked, they became crisp and light, creating an easy to prepare breakfast when milk was added. His brother Will Keith Kellogg (W.K.) began his cereal-making career in the 1890’s when he assisted his brother, then saw the potential, and on 19 Feb 1906, he created the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co.
