CNN.com

Here is a crash course in the world of business conglomerates. Test your knowledge to see if you really know who owns who. The conventional wisdom of scifi pundits argue that the world will one day only have a handful of really powerful companies who own everything seems to be drawing closer every day.

A couple of my favorites are listed below. Who would've guessed the link between the New York Post with FOX television, the TV Guide and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Viacom has its hands in a bunch of cookie jars owning everything from Blockbuster to MTV, CBS, and Nickelodeon, Paramount and UPN, along with Showtime, Black Entertainment television, Country Music Television, VH1, and Comedy Central. Talk about a powerhouse of entertainment. Seems like you can't surf through the cable channels without hitting at least a dozen Viacom ventures. Less of an odd duck is Cheetos, Doritos and all the rest under the Frito-Lay banner being linked to Gatorade, Quaker Oatmeal, Pasta Roni as being a part of the Pepsico Corporation. Sony pretty much sticks with the world of electronics and entertainment, but who would've figured Sony Life Insurance.

And this is just enough to wet your whistle. There's a dozen more companies poised to rule the world. Given enough time the pundits might turn out to be right. Then god help us when our mortgage loan is help by Mickey Mouse.   ¶ 1:02 PM