I spend a lot of time here at your Number One source for payday loans online reporting on the doom and gloom that is today’s economy. But every once in a while, I like to seek out some lighthearted news to brighten things up a bit.

Today I came across a special series on CNNMoney.com that profiled six companies that started up during a recession. Personally, I have one friend who got laid off and is now trying to start her own business. I figure if even little old me knows someone who’s attempting this, there must be plenty of other entrepreneurs born of unemployment out there. Here are my two favorite companies that toughed it out when times were tough.

Thomas Edison makes a name for himself

If nothing else, it should be a comfort to know that this country has weathered far worse than this. We have heard comparisons to the Great Depression, which officially lasted four years in the U.S. Long before that, the country faced a depression that lasted over 20 years, from 1873 to 1896. It was creatively named The Long Depression. Can you imagine what people in that time period would have thought of the idea of people getting payday loans online?

In the thick of the country’s financial crisis, Thomas Edison began work at a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. In 1876 he invented the first light bulb, and by the end of The Long Depression Edison General Electric was one of the first companies to get a spot on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Today, General Electric is the only company of the original 12 that still remains on the Dow.

Soap and candles

Proctor & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati

Sometimes it’s good to stick to the basics. During the Panic of 1837 (our country has quite the track record for panicking), “Candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble joined forces to start a small household-goods business in Cincinnati,” reports CNNMoney.

Today, Procter & Gamble is the biggest household goods producer in the U.S., selling brands like Tide, Pampers, Oral-B, Iams, Pantene, Duracell and Pringles. Just goes to show, in tough times people still need soap, even 172 years later.

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