Invented in 1892 by Sir James Dewar, a scientist at Oxford University, the "vacuum flask" was first manufactured for commercial use in 1904, when two German glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH. They held a contest to name the "vacuum flask" and a resident of Munich submitted "Thermos", which came from the Greek word "Therme" meaning "heat". Today Thermos continues to be the world leader in glass vacuum technology. As it says on the poster, “Thermos retains heat and cold.”