The article presents a list of the top 5 worst business decisions in history, along with a brief description of each:
1. Henry Ford II's refusal to acquire Volkswagen in 1948, which was offered to him for free. He deemed the company and its design unworthy.
2. Western Union's decision to reject Alexander Graham Bell's offer to sell his telephone patent for $10,000, thinking it was worthless. They later had to pay Bell 20% of their profits.
3. Dr. Félix d'Hérelle, a doctor who treated Vincent Van Gogh, dismissing the artist's work as "dirty" and worthless. Van Gogh's paintings are now highly valued.
4. Marvel's failure to secure the rights to their characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America, which were instead acquired by other studios.
5. Economist Paul Krugman's prediction in 1998 that the internet would not have a significant impact on the economy, which proved to be incorrect.
These decisions demonstrate how even the most seemingly reasonable choices can ultimately lead to missed opportunities and significant losses.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. In 1998, Paul Crackman predicted that the growth of the internet would slow dramatically.
2. Paul Crackman was an economist who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2008.
3. In 1998, Marvel contacted all the studios interested in having the rights to their characters.
4. Universal was only interested in the Hulk, 20th Century Fox kept Deadpool, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Sony was interested in Spider-Man.
5. Marvel decided to create their own studio after the lack of interest in the rest of the Marvel series.
6. In 1928, Dr. Félix treated Vincent Van Gogh after his ear crisis.
7. Dr. Félix considered Van Gogh's paintings to be "dirty" and did not understand them.
8. Van Gogh gave Dr. Félix several paintings, which he did not like.
9. The hospital administrator did not want Van Gogh's paintings, and they ended up in the attic.
10. Alexander Graham Bell and his father-in-law and lawyer spoke to Western Union to help them finance their patent for the phone with $10,000.
11. Western Union rejected the offer, citing the Gray patent, which they believed made Bell's device worthless.
12. Antonio Meucci is considered the true inventor of the telephone, but he did not have the money to make himself heard.
13. Meucci sent a demonstration to Western Union, which they claimed to have lost.
14. Western Union created the American Speaking Telephone Company, which later reached an out-of-court agreement with Bell.
15. The agreement allowed Western Union to continue as they were, and Bell's company gained 20% of the profits from Western Union's telephones.
16. In 1897, Lord Kelvin said that the radio had no future.
17. The Lumière brothers thought that their cinematographic camera was only a scientific curiosity with no commercial future.
18. In 1926, Lee Forest did not believe in the potential of television.
19. In 1948, Henry Ford II refused to take Volkswagen, which was offered to him for free.
20. The British had occupied the region where Volkswagen was located, and the manufacturing plant was partially destroyed by the Ernest Bridge attacks.
21. The president of the board of directors of Ford evaluated the state of Volkswagen and said that it was not worth anything.
22. The design of the Beetle, which later became the most famous car in the world, was not liked by Ford.