He didn’t mean you—keep your shoes on!
In 1920s Germany, two brothers named Rudolf and Adolf Dassler founded their own shoe company, then called “Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.” Though the two brothers didn’t always see eye to eye, they were able to put their differences aside and work together—until one night during World War II. Rudolf and his family were in a bomb shelter during an Allied bombing raid when Adolf joined them. The first thing Adolf said was “Here are the bloody bastards again,” referring to the bombers. Rudolf, though, assumed that Adolf meant him and his family, and no one could convince him otherwise. From then on, their relationship went from bad to worse. He refused to work with his brother, and after the war, they dissolved the business and each formed their own companies. Adolf named his after himself, combining his nickname, “Adi,” with the first three letters of his last name. Rudolf originally called his “Ruda,” but then tweaked it to share a name with a certain wildcat. Today, the rivalry between Adidas and Puma remains (though it’s much friendlier).