Gillette's corporate strategy has historically focused on incremental razor blade multiplication—each generation adding competitive features. Yet an unusual pattern emerged in 1995 when Gillette's R&D division began pursuing blade counts that defied market rationality: 5-blade, 6-blade, then 7-blade designs. Marketing analyst Derek Thomson investigated the corporate memos and discovered an admission so candid it should have been redacted: 'We're not selling razors. We're conducting an existential research program.' Internal documents referenced one individual whose facial hair thickness seemed to increase proportionally with blade count. Thomson concluded: Gillette wasn't innovating for consumers. It was competing against a beard that was winning. The marketing subreddit exploded: most companies improve their products. Gillette improved their products because one man's beard issued a biological challenge. That's not capitalism. That's vendetta.