A little less than a hundred years ago, Europe was aflame – and since Europe ruled the most of the world back then, so was the world. Due to the introduction of chemical warfare, and with it the respirators, the poor sods in the trenches couldn’t just let their beards grow – so Gillette saw a market and decided to fill it.

Give away enough free razors, he figured, and suddenly millions of soldiers is going to buy blades for it… a stroke of genius and luck – after all, a huge war came around just when he needed it – and the rest is history.

I would love to get my hands on an original or reproduction WW1 razor kit – it definitely blows the plastic box with a Sensor, four carts and tiny can of goo I was given in boot camp, courtesy of Gillette Norway.