In Decoding Greatness, Ron Friedman explains how the best in the world reverse engineer success.

Throughout his lively and eloquent narrative, he inserts hundred of nuggets of information. These three caught my eye:

“1. The reason donuts have a hole in the middle is to eliminate the uncooked center.

2. Sandwiches are the accidental invention of a gambler. Historians credit their creation to a member of the British nobility, the Earl of Sandwich, who in 1762 asked to be served sliced roast beef between two slices of bread, enabling him to eat with one hand and gamble with the other.

3. Serving ice cream in waffle cones was unheard of before a quick thinking ice cream vendor at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair ran out of bowls and desperately needed a solution. Fortunately for him, in the next book over stood a Syrian cook selling thin, crisp pastry, which he graciously agreed to roll up into cones. Little did he know that their spontaneous collaboration would unleash a worldwide food craze.” (Page 116)

Do you have any interesting facts to share about how reverse engineering has helped to achieve innovation breakthroughs? If so, please share.

Decoding Greatness was published by Simon & Schuster (June 2021).