10 Things You Didn't Know About IKEA

Even though many can't pronounce most of the merchandise the store sells, IKEA has become the go-to source for affordable yet stylish furnishings and housewares.



Well, at least among those who don't mind putting stuff together themselves.

Here are 10 facts about the flat-pack ruler of the universe.

Number 10. IKEA had 690 million customers in 2012. That's double the population of the United States. That same year, their website got about a billion views.

Number 9. The furniture wasn't always flat-pack. It wasn't until the designer had to remove the legs of a table so it would fit it in a trunk that the assembly-required idea started to be explored. That happened in 1956.

Number 8. The name references the founder. The I and the K from IKEA stand for Ingvar Kamprad, the man who started the company at the tender age of 17. E is for Elmtaryd and A is for Agunnaryd, the farm and village he once called home.

Number 7. Ingvar Kamprad was once a Nazi sympathizer.
"In a letter to his employees, he called it his greatest mistake." [euronews]

Number 6. IKEA had a horsemeat scare. In the winter of 2013 a batch of their famous Swedish meatballs tested positive resulting in them pulled off the shelves and out of the cafeterias in their European stores.

Number 5. There's a logical system behind the crazy names. The founder has dyslexia, and finds nouns easier to keep track of than numbers. So, for example, kids stuff is named for mammals and utensils for fruits and veggies.

Number 4 - IKEA uses up some serious wood. To be precise, the company goes through 1 percent of the entire commercial wood supply in the entire world. While 1 percent may seem like a measly amount, it's actually huge and most likely deems IKEA as the Earth's largest consumer of wood.

Number 3. The IKEA catalog rivals Harry Potter books. Based on the print run, anyway. In 2010 alone, over 195 million catalogs rolled off the presses. They were available in 29 languages and 61 editions.

Number 2. 1 in 10 Europeans is conceived in an IKEA bed. Well, that's the estimate, anyway. You may be relieved to know that although they take returns on mattresses, they inspect them first.

Number 1. They're building their own neighborhood. It's going up in London, complete with schools, theaters, and homes. Yes, the houses will be flat-pack and cost significantly less than traditional ones do.

Do you like IKEA? What was the last product you bought from there?