{"id":3447,"date":"2010-11-09T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2010-11-09T15:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=3447"},"modified":"2013-03-05T11:52:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-05T19:52:00","slug":"50-of-the-ownership-of-dominos-pizza-was-once-traded-for-a-used-volkswagen-beetle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/11\/50-of-the-ownership-of-dominos-pizza-was-once-traded-for-a-used-volkswagen-beetle\/","title":{"rendered":"50% of the Ownership of Domino’s Pizza Was Once Traded for a Used Volkswagen Beetle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Avoid<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> fifty percent of the ownership of Domino’s Pizza was once traded for a used Volkswagen Beetle.<\/p>\n

The year was 1961, just a little under one year after brothers Tom and James Monaghan had purchased a pizza restaurant, DomiNick’s, for $500.\u00a0 After eight months of running the business as a partnership, James Monaghan got the bright idea to trade his stake in the business to his brother, for a used Volkswagen Beetle.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward 38 years and Tom Monaghan decided to retire and sell most of his stake in the company that was now known as Domino’s Pizza.\u00a0 He got a bit more than the price of a used Volkswagen Beetle though.\u00a0 Specifically, he sold 93% of his stake for one billion dollars.\u00a0 One can only imagine the awkwardness at the Monaghan family gatherings.\u00a0 “Hey, so how’s that Beetle running?”<\/p>\n

This isn’t the only funny story surrounding this company.\u00a0 In the 1980s, Domino’s Pizza ran an advertising campaign featuring a character known as “The Noid”, who would steal pizzas, not unlike McDonald’s Hamburglar.\u00a0 The slogan that accompanied Domino’s campaign was “avoid the Noid”.\u00a0 Why is this significant?\u00a0 Because in 1989, a guy by the name of Kenneth Lamar Noid became convinced that Domino’s was referring to him.\u00a0 Enraged by the perceived personal attack, Mr. Noid held two Domino’s Pizza employees hostage in an Atlanta Domino’s Pizza restaurant.\u00a0 During the five hour ordeal, he did not harm the employees, but did get hungry and forced them to make him pizza, which, ironically enough, was him stealing pizza.\u00a0 Eventually, he surrendered to the police.\u00a0 Apparently, one should actually try to avoid the pizza stealing Kenneth Noid.<\/p>\n

Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n