In 1953, the household staple WD-40 was invented at a small San Diego lab as a degreaser and rust preventer for the aerospace business. It took 40 tries to make it work — hence the name, which stands for water displacement perfected on the 40th try.

Now with more than 430 employees, WD-40 Co. brought in its first full time attorney in January 2014 — and he’s a busy man.