Whatever Happened To . . . ?

I was cleaning out my file cabinet today - I try to do that every once in awhile, when it gets so full that I can barely cram another catalogue in . . . . (& yes, despite websites, we still get a lot of catalogues and often prefer using them) . . . anyway, there were a few really old ones in there, that I've kept almost for sentimental reasons, and I decided to google the companies to see if they were still around. I googled Tiny Flame Studio - a small handcraft company we used to buy hammered copper wands and picture frames from. Most of the sites listed them with no information but said "if this is your company, please contact us." And I discovered there are lots and lots of sites that make it their business - to list other businesses. One of the "big players" appeared to be Manta.com. On their website they claim that they list over 23 million companies in the United States alone. I googled Tiny Flame on their site and got the following information: "Tiny Flame Studio in Fairfax, CA is a private company categorized under Jewelry Stores. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $1 to 2.5 million and employs a staff of approximately 5 to 9." Wow. That's quite a range of revenue. And with 5 to 9 employees, they must have a really difficult time in the years they only make $1. With 5 employees, that would be 20 cents each. Really, what is the point of publishing such obviously bogus information? I guess if you're going to feature 23 million companies . . . you have to get a little creative!