There's an interesting book on the history of the Corning Glass Works...I wasted a couple of hours at Borders one time reading it. They have a lot of very imaginative folks there...to think about using railroad signal globes for baking, then 50 years later making cookware out of another product, then establishing an entire division to get that cookware into stores etc (compare to Tupperware which developed an entirely different way of selling housewares), then evolved the product (Corning Ware to Centura to Corelle), extended the product (smooth top cooktops/stoves) and finally exited the product.
