In 1946, in the basement of a former department store, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka set out to make Japan's first tape recorders. World War II had just ended, and even basic materials were scarce. For the tape, Morita scrounged some mimeograph paper, which they cut into narrow strips with razor blades. For the magnetic coating, they melted oxalicferrite powder in a skillet to create ferric oxide, then painted it onto the paper strips. The tape sounded terrible, but it worked. And from these humble beginnings, Sony was born.