How a Simple Mistake Created a Multi-Million Dollar Office Empire

The invention that became a staple on office desks globally originated from the ingenuity of a resourceful secretary who concealed nail polish bottles filled with homemade white paint, surreptitiously making corrections while her boss was absent. Bette Nesmith Graham's clever remedy would later be valued at $47.5 million, but it began with a typographical slip that jeopardized her job.In 1954, Graham, earning just $300 as a secretary at Texas Bank and Trust in Dallas, was also navigating the challenges of single motherhood. Struggling with errors compounded by new typewriter technology, she found inspiration when observing artists painting holiday scenes. This experience sparked her realization that layering paint could effectively mask mistakes.Initially called Mistake Out, her product gained traction among colleagues, and Graham began bottling her formula at home. Though facing financial struggles, her relentless efforts led to significant growth, including a pivotal partnership with her husband. By 1968, Liquid Paper generated $1 million annually, dominating the market with progressive policies along the way. After selling to Gillette in 1980, she bequeathed her fortune partly to charity and partly to her son, Michael, from The Monkees.