School funding mishap
Money can go a long way, especially when it comes to education. That’s what made “Race to the Top” a $4.35 billion education grant from the U.S. Department of Education so unique. New Jersey came so close to earning the grant when a mistake in the application led to them falling 3 points short of winning, according to NJ.com. Once the application was completed, the responsible administrators used data from 2011 instead of 2009 as required.
New Coke flavor flop
Coke has a traditional, timeless taste that doesn’t change all that much— and for good reason. In 1985, thinking that they could use a new flavor to compete with Pepsi, Coke came up with “New Coke,” a much sweeter tasting soda. Despite their optimistic hopes, according to History.com, the taste was such a disappointment that it led to a rise in stocks for their competitors.
Not so book smart
Even if you’ve never read the book series or watched the film franchise, you’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard about the worldwide phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Well, one publisher probably wishes they were living under a rock right now as they made the colossal error of turning down author J.K. Rowling.
She shared a few of her rejections letters on Twitter revealing that one publisher (sadly not named) wrote back to her concerning her Harry Potter manuscript, “I regret that we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we could not publish [Harry Potter] with commercial success.” Let’s just put that into perspective, the book sales to date have grossed approximately $7.7 billion, the movies box office receipts are $6.5 billion and the Harry Potter brand as a whole is believed to be worth around $25 billion.
Blockbuster mistake
Netflix has come a long way from its snail mail rental DVD subscription days, by becoming a powerhouse entertainment service. Sadly, Blockbuster Video could not see the potential as Netflix decided to get into business with them. According to Inc., in 2000 Netflix came to Blockbuster with a plan to take care of the digital part of their business while Blockbuster would run the brick and mortar component. Blockbuster replied with a costly no… and now there’s only one store left in the world (it’s in Bend, Oregon).
