A closer look
Corporate espionage was so rampant in the 18th century that Eleanor Coade literally took her billion-dollar secret to the grave. While male architects were struggling with stone that crumbled in London's acidic, smoggy air, Coade invented a beautiful, completely weatherproof ceramic artificial stone. She dominated the market, decorating Buckingham Palace and the Royal Pavilion. Yet, she trusted absolutely no one. She strictly compartmentalized her factory so no single worker knew the whole process. When she died, the recipe vanished, leaving modern chemists struggling for over a century to reverse-engineer her masonry masterpiece.
