# 3 M corp...What does the 3 M's stand for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339 "2004-10-15T07:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OliverTwistofLime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b487fb/32.png) [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/1 "2004-10-15T07:49:00Z")
When I was a kid, I remember that the 3 M company was called Minnesota, Mining and…? This a quickie: What word represented the 3rd M? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/2 "2004-10-15T07:50:34Z")
Was it manufacturing? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/3 "2004-10-15T08:09:10Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Was it manufacturing? [Yep.](http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/_s.155/121266/_s.155/116713) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/4 "2004-10-15T11:59:15Z")
So wait - are M&Ms not mined, or is it just that they don’t come from Minnesota? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/5 "2004-10-15T14:15:32Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > So wait - are M&Ms not mined, or is it just that they don’t come from Minnesota? 😕 They’re not really even M&Ms. They are 3&3s turned sideways. RR ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/6 "2004-10-15T14:22:44Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > So wait - are M&Ms not mined, or is it just that they don’t come from Minnesota? 😕 They’re hunted/trapped - you’ve seen the commercials with the little M&M guys, right? Well picture hundreds of them, being chased through a field, while leather clad “hunters” on horse back surround them and others play drums and beat the brush. Finally nets are cast over them and they are taken back to the factory in old fashioned carts. Their brains and other organs are removed, their little cartoon limbs are severed and then they are stuffed into bags, boxes and tubes before being delivered to your grocers’ counters. It’s quite gruesome, actually, and I’m surprised that PETA hasn’t said a thing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/7 "2004-10-15T14:39:25Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > So wait - are M&Ms not mined, or is it just that they don’t come from Minnesota? 😕 No, they’re not from Minnesota. Remember, “the best candy on Earth comes from Mars.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/8 "2004-10-15T15:26:09Z")
> [@MadSam](#): > > When I was a kid, I remember that the 3 M company was called Minnesota, Mining and…? Just to return to the OP for a moment, I’m guessing there shouldn’t be a comma there. The company is based in Minnesota; it presumably doesn’t \*do \* Minnesota as well as the other two Ms 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/9 "2004-10-15T17:11:37Z")
Money Money Money. ABBA even wrote a song about it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/10 "2004-10-16T02:27:43Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > They’re hunted/trapped - you’ve seen the commercials with the little M&M guys, right? Well picture hundreds of them, being chased through a field, while leather clad “hunters” on horse back surround them and others play drums and beat the brush. Finally nets are cast over them and they are taken back to the factory in old fashioned carts. Their brains and other organs are removed, their little cartoon limbs are severed and then they are stuffed into bags, boxes and tubes before being delivered to your grocers’ counters. It’s quite gruesome, actually, and I’m surprised that PETA hasn’t said a thing about it. Damn you, **Shibb**. I just finished a bag of peanut M&Ms, and now I can’t get the image of [Natty Bumppo](http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG02/COOPER/bumppo.html) out of my head. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/11 "2004-10-16T03:48:44Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > They’re hunted/trapped - you’ve seen the commercials with the little M&M guys, right? Well picture hundreds of them, being chased through a field, while leather clad “hunters” on horse back surround them and others play drums and beat the brush. Finally nets are cast over them and they are taken back to the factory in old fashioned carts. Their brains and other organs are removed, their little cartoon limbs are severed and then they are stuffed into bags, boxes and tubes before being delivered to your grocers’ counters. It’s quite gruesome, actually, and I’m surprised that PETA hasn’t said a thing about it. These days, almost all M&M’s are farm-raised. While they used to be hunted, the infamous photos from the late 1970s and early 1980s of young M&M’s being clubbed in Nova Scotia caused a general revulsion to the idea of the candies being taken in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/12 "2004-10-16T04:30:27Z")
In the Navy we did “3M” spot checks. 3M makes a lot of the products, and the 3M’s stand for “Materials Maintenance Management”. [Acronymfinder.com](http://Acronymfinder.com) helps us out more on this: > [@](#): > > Maintenance and Material Management System > Maintenance and Materiel Management > Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing > Three Musketeers ---
**Author:** ![BlackNGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BlackNGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackNGold)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/13 "2004-10-16T15:28:57Z")
While the question has already been answered, a few years ago at work I found what has to be the world’s oldest roll of masking tape. How did I know? The inside of the roll was yellow and had “Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing” on it. Any idea on how long it’s been since 3M used this on its products? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/14 "2004-10-16T16:21:38Z")
Boy-O that was an _easy_ one! For a challenge, without Googling-you cheaters, decipher BASF. Extra points for correct spelling. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/15 "2004-10-16T16:29:36Z")
I think that this year, because everyone recognized 3M and no one recognized Minesota Mining and Manufacturing, they actually officially changed the name of the company to 3M. So, now, technically, 3M stand for 3M. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/16 "2004-10-16T16:45:27Z")
If 3M is Minesota Mining and Manufacturing, then what is threemae? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/17 "2004-10-16T17:53:04Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Boy-O that was an _easy_ one! For a challenge, without Googling-you cheaters, decipher BASF. Extra points for correct spelling. 😉 [Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik](http://www.corporate.basf.com/en/ueberuns/profil/geschichte/?id=M6_Nk5kl*bcp-wq). And I didn’t Google “you cheaters”, just like you said. I Googled “BASF”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-m-corp-what-does-the-3-ms-stand-for/269339/18 "2004-10-16T18:24:51Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If 3M is Minesota Mining and Manufacturing, then what is threemae? 🙂 Wouldn’t all of you just love to know…