30 MADE IN USA Brands Every American Household Trusted Before They Disappeared
BACK AMERICA
594 views
📼 30 AMERICAN BRANDS THAT SLIPPED AWAY WHILE NOBODY WAS WATCHING
In the year 2000, two founders of a tiny mail-order DVD company flew to Dallas and offered to sell their business to Blockbuster for $50 million. By their account, Blockbuster's executives could barely keep a straight face. Ten years later, Blockbuster was bankrupt, and that tiny company was called Netflix. These 30 brands lived in your kitchen cabinets, your toy box, your closet and your Friday nights, and your family trusted every one of them without a second thought.
❓ The big questions in this episode
• How did brands trusted for generations lose themselves through sell-offs, licensing deals and factory closures?
• Why is a famous name on the box often all that is left of them today?
• How did giant retail chains lose to the internet and to their own overconfidence?
• Why did Blockbuster turn down Netflix, and what did it cost?
🧾 Why this video exists
This is a historical documentary countdown about American consumer culture in the second half of the 20th century: kitchenware, toys, clothing, stores, electronics and video rental. It is educational, informative and nostalgic in nature. Its purpose is to preserve the memory of brands that were part of everyday life and to show how markets, companies and habits change over time.
📍 Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:00 #30 Farberware
2:58 #29 Mirro
4:53 #28 Crock-Pot
6:54 #27 Hamilton Beach
8:54 #26 Tab
10:59 #25 Hostess
13:04 #24 Thermos
16:39 #23 Samsonite
18:41 #22 Tonka
20:43 #21 Lionel
22:41 #20 Kenner
24:47 #19 View-Master
26:51 #18 Atari
28:54 #17 Bulova
30:58 #16 Spalding
32:58 #15 OshKosh B'gosh
34:59 #14 Keds
38:33 #13 Saturn
40:35 #12 Western Auto
42:32 #11 Burger Chef
44:34 #10 Gateway
46:30 #9 Service Merchandise
48:31 #8 Remington
50:28 #7 Tower Records
54:26 #6 Borders
56:37 #5 AOL
58:37 #4 Bed Bath & Beyond
1:00:41 #3 Payless ShoeSource
1:02:41 #2 Circuit City
1:04:50 #1 Blockbuster
1:07:40 Final thoughts
🔧 Behind the scenes
This episode runs almost 70 minutes, and a huge, complex amount of work went into it. First came researching and cross-checking facts from open sources: books, newspaper archives, company reports and founder interviews. Then the script for 30 separate stories, the search for archival photos, vintage ads and footage, the narration and an extensive edit: every story was assembled by hand with its own pacing, graphics, music and color. The edit took the most time, and this is one of the most labor-intensive videos on the channel.
🛡️ Disclaimer
This video is educational, historical-documentary and informational in nature, made to tell the story of American business and everyday life.
• Many brands on this list still exist today. "Slipped away" refers to the original companies, factories and stores: the video covers sales, licensing, production moving elsewhere or closures, not the complete disappearance of every brand name.
• Facts and dates come from publicly available sources. Stories known from participants' own accounts (such as the Netflix and Blockbuster meeting) are presented as their version of events. Opinions and conclusions are the author's own.
• Some visuals are illustrative and may show similar products, places or years.
• All names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used for identification only. The channel is not affiliated with these companies; this video is not sponsored, not an advertisement and not a call to buy anything.
• This is not investment or financial advice.
• The video contains no political campaigning and does not promote violence, hatred or discrimination.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us in the comments and we will check it and add a correction to the pinned comment.
🗣️ Your turn
Open the kitchen drawer, check the attic and the garage: maybe there is a metal lunchbox, a View-Master with a stack of reels, a steel Tonka truck or an old Blockbuster card. Tell us in the comments what you found, which brand your family trusted and which store you went to every Saturday.
✨ About the channel
Stories of the things, stores and brands we grew up with, told calmly, with facts and with warmth.
30 MADE IN USA Brands Every American Household Trusted Before They Disappeared
BACK AMERICA
594 views
📼 30 AMERICAN BRANDS THAT SLIPPED AWAY WHILE NOBODY WAS WATCHING
In the year 2000, two founders of a tiny mail-order DVD company flew to Dallas and offered to sell their business to Blockbuster for $50 million. By their account, Blockbuster's executives could barely keep a straight face. Ten years later, Blockbuster was bankrupt, and that tiny company was called Netflix. These 30 brands lived in your kitchen cabinets, your toy box, your closet and your Friday nights, and your family trusted every one of them without a second thought.
❓ The big questions in this episode
• How did brands trusted for generations lose themselves through sell-offs, licensing deals and factory closures?
• Why is a famous name on the box often all that is left of them today?
• How did giant retail chains lose to the internet and to their own overconfidence?
• Why did Blockbuster turn down Netflix, and what did it cost?
🧾 Why this video exists
This is a historical documentary countdown about American consumer culture in the second half of the 20th century: kitchenware, toys, clothing, stores, electronics and video rental. It is educational, informative and nostalgic in nature. Its purpose is to preserve the memory of brands that were part of everyday life and to show how markets, companies and habits change over time.
📍 Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:00 #30 Farberware
2:58 #29 Mirro
4:53 #28 Crock-Pot
6:54 #27 Hamilton Beach
8:54 #26 Tab
10:59 #25 Hostess
13:04 #24 Thermos
16:39 #23 Samsonite
18:41 #22 Tonka
20:43 #21 Lionel
22:41 #20 Kenner
24:47 #19 View-Master
26:51 #18 Atari
28:54 #17 Bulova
30:58 #16 Spalding
32:58 #15 OshKosh B'gosh
34:59 #14 Keds
38:33 #13 Saturn
40:35 #12 Western Auto
42:32 #11 Burger Chef
44:34 #10 Gateway
46:30 #9 Service Merchandise
48:31 #8 Remington
50:28 #7 Tower Records
54:26 #6 Borders
56:37 #5 AOL
58:37 #4 Bed Bath & Beyond
1:00:41 #3 Payless ShoeSource
1:02:41 #2 Circuit City
1:04:50 #1 Blockbuster
1:07:40 Final thoughts
🔧 Behind the scenes
This episode runs almost 70 minutes, and a huge, complex amount of work went into it. First came researching and cross-checking facts from open sources: books, newspaper archives, company reports and founder interviews. Then the script for 30 separate stories, the search for archival photos, vintage ads and footage, the narration and an extensive edit: every story was assembled by hand with its own pacing, graphics, music and color. The edit took the most time, and this is one of the most labor-intensive videos on the channel.
🛡️ Disclaimer
This video is educational, historical-documentary and informational in nature, made to tell the story of American business and everyday life.
• Many brands on this list still exist today. "Slipped away" refers to the original companies, factories and stores: the video covers sales, licensing, production moving elsewhere or closures, not the complete disappearance of every brand name.
• Facts and dates come from publicly available sources. Stories known from participants' own accounts (such as the Netflix and Blockbuster meeting) are presented as their version of events. Opinions and conclusions are the author's own.
• Some visuals are illustrative and may show similar products, places or years.
• All names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used for identification only. The channel is not affiliated with these companies; this video is not sponsored, not an advertisement and not a call to buy anything.
• This is not investment or financial advice.
• The video contains no political campaigning and does not promote violence, hatred or discrimination.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us in the comments and we will check it and add a correction to the pinned comment.
🗣️ Your turn
Open the kitchen drawer, check the attic and the garage: maybe there is a metal lunchbox, a View-Master with a stack of reels, a steel Tonka truck or an old Blockbuster card. Tell us in the comments what you found, which brand your family trusted and which store you went to every Saturday.
✨ About the channel
Stories of the things, stores and brands we grew up with, told calmly, with facts and with warmth.