"We've seen the balance of power shift from the financing sources to the entrepreneur, " says Wendy Phillips, a venture capitalist at the Menlo Park office of Advent International.

FORBES: Just plain uppity

As with schools, the advent of international rankings has made list-watchers of everyone.

ECONOMIST: Finding the secret to educational success

Nabi's big break came when he was invited to spend three months at the home of English cricket, Lord's, in 2007 as part of the young player program run by the Marylebone Cricket Club -- which governed the sport until the advent of the International Cricket Council in 1993.

CNN: The Taliban's favorite sport: Afghan cricket's battle for acceptance

But Katmai blew up in a remote and little-populated area, while Tambora's explosion took place before the advent of undersea cables and international news agencies.

FORBES: Don't Go Near The Volcano

It took the advent of software piracy and the birth of "intellectual property crime" to add a fillip to international efforts against counterfeiting.

NPR: Tracking the World's Black Market: 'Illicit'