I've always loved those stories about famous products that were invented by accident.

Maybe you've heard the one about the naval engineer who was working with tension springs,

and when he dropped one on the floor, he noticed that it almost looked like it was crawling.

And the next thing you know, the slinky is one of the top-selling toys on the market.

Or how about the company that was trying to make a super strong adhesive?

But when they failed, they sold the result anyway, as Post-It notes.

Well, here's one that maybe you haven't heard.

It's about two brothers who ran a stationary store in Kansas City.

The year was 1917.

And like most retailers at the time, they offered customers plain tissue paper to use as wrapping paper.

Only back then, it was referred to as gift dressings, which is kind of awesome and really needs to make a comeback. But one day, during the Christmas season, they ran out of gift dressings, which is kind of awesome and really needs to make a comeback. But one day,

during the Christmas season, they ran out of gift dressings. So Raleigh, one of the brothers,

went back to the warehouse to look for something, anything they could use instead. He found a stack of

fancy, brightly colored paper sheets. They planned on using them as the inner linings of their

fancy envelopes. So we brought some of it back to the store, priced the sheets at 10 cents a pop,

and the stuff just flew off the shelves. They couldn't keep up with demand. And just like that,

a whole new industry was born. The wrapping paper we know and love today,

with its bright colors and printed patterns,

can trace its beginnings back to that one day,

that one decision made in 1917

by a man named Raleigh Hall,

who, along with his brother, J.C., ran a company that's still around today.

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