HeLa Cells

HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks' cervical cancer in 1951 - and they're still alive, dividing in labs worldwide. They've been cultured continuously for over 70 years, growing so aggressively they've contaminated countless other cell lines. The total mass of HeLa cells produced likely exceeds 50 million metric tons - far more than Henrietta Lacks ever weighed.

HeLa cells achieved immortality outside their host, but not through their own strategy - through human cultivation. They're used in research that has produced polio vaccines, cancer treatments, and COVID vaccines. The business parallel is entities that outlive their origins through institutional capture: products, practices, or standards that persist because they've become embedded in larger systems, not because of their inherent value.