The Tomato That Built Empires

In the late 1980s, university student Francesco Cirillo picked up a tomato-shaped kitchen timer and changed productivity forever.

The Italian word for tomato — pomodoro — became the name. Cirillo published the method in 2006 and it spread worldwide. The appeal is psychological: 25 minutes feels short enough to endure even on a bad day. Starting is cheap when commitment is tiny.