Leslie's July envelope to Janet, Cathy, and Lauren -- (Oldest businesses)

 

Here are a few of the envelopes that Leslie sent in July. The envelopes are the translucent velum.

On Cathy's she used a metallic Zig Fudebiyori brush marker for her name. 

The add on is sorta long. I'm too lazy to smallerize it. Just ignore it if you have other things you should be doing. Clearly, when I wrote it, I had other things to do -- and was *chore-avoiding.*

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The July 5th post mentioned Crane's paper and Christi left a comment telling us that she had visited the Crane's paper mill where they make and print all the paper that is used for US currency. That jogged my memory of something I found during one of my evening surfs. 

Mr Wilson was so excited about getting new cork and rubber soles put on his Birkenstocks. And somehow talking about Birkenstocks led me info that the company has been around since 1774. Wow. That triggered  a search for *oldest business* and I found a Wiki article that lists a ton of companies that have been around for centuries. 

The oldest known continuously run business is a Japanese construction company from 578.

Then there are 3 hotels in Japan from the 700s as well as a Japanese *ceremonial paper goods* company. Double-WOW. I want to know more about that one.

The first companies outside of Japan are a wine company in Germany and a mint in France. Interesting to note that something involving currency is very old and the wine company foreshadows a LOT of beverage companies joining the list - mostly breweries. Lots of them. 

Company number 12 is a confectionary in Japan. And many confectionaries pop up on the list.

I spent way too much time reading through the list - but my chore-avoidance always wins - and I was curious about what the oldest companies in the US are? Oldest listed is an orchard. Also there are several family farms that have stayed in one family since the 1600s. And the the Zildjian cymbal company which started in the 1600s in Turkey relocated to the US.

Two things jumped out at me:

1. Japanese business far out number any other country. Can anyone offer an explanation for why that is?

2. The three types of companies that dominate the list are: breweries, hotels, and confectionaries. Interesting, eh? I can see why beer and hotels have been essentials for such a long time. But I would not have thought that candy was something with such a long history.

You may review the entire list here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies

If the company is listed in blue - you may link to more info.