Ask the ordinary person on the street what the abbreviation ISO stands for. Electricians' shorthand for "insulate"? Internal Safety Organism? Internal Security Orchestra? The last one comes close, but of course ISO is the abbreviation for one of the most successful NGOs of all time, namely the Non-Governmental Organization called the International Organization for Standardization.
Founded two years after World War II, ISO now has offices in 164 countries. 23,196 standards have been debated, adopted and are applicable around the globe today. World trade, trade agreements, globalization - we wouldn't have as much to discuss if not for ISO and its famous ISO standards.