Skunk Works

 

<<The nickname Lockheed employees gave to their organization is an adaptation of the name for the ultra-secret high security “Skunk Works” moonshine operation featured in Al Capp’s widely popular comic strip Li’l Amber, which ran from 1934 to 1977.>>

— Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The name since became widely used for elite research teams especially in the hi tech industry.

Panel from the Smithsonian