Why Are (Most) Sofas So Bad?
dwell.com/article/dtc-sofa-crisis-32304b9eThe most important piece of furniture in your home is in need of assistance. How did we end up here? And how can we fix it?
Stolen formula for capacitors causing computers to burn out
independent.co.uk/news/business/news/stolen-formula-for-capacitors-causing-computers-to-burn-out-106907.htmlA scientist steals a secret formula for an electrical product from his Japanese employer and takes it to China. Then it is stolen again and turns up in Taiwan. But something goes wrong - and thousands, perhaps millions, of computers and electrical goods in the West begin to burn out or explode. via absolument tout
Block Telethon 1992 — the day we ‘pissed on pity’ | by Georgia | Medium
medium.com/@theNDACA/block-telethon-1992-the-day-we-pissed-on-pity-69117b03825aThe Telethon was a 24-hour charity broadcast which raised money for disabled people — and patronised them in the process. The campaign to rid TV screens of ITV’s Telethon began in early summer 1990…
Whole Earth Index
wholeearth.info/Here lies a nearly-complete archive of Whole Earth publications, a series of journals and magazines descended from the Whole Earth Catalog, published by Stewart Brand and the POINT Foundation between 1970 and 2002.
New Word Order : A Neologisms Quiz
monkeon.co.uk/new-word-order/Can you put the words and phrases into the order they first appeared?
Column: Why a medieval peasant got more vacation time than you | Reuters
reuters.com/article/us-column-great-debate/column-why-a-medieval-peasant-got-more-vacation-time-than-you-idUKBRE97S0KU20130829Life for the medieval peasant was certainly no picnic. His life was shadowed by fear of famine, disease and bursts of warfare. His diet and personal hygiene left much to be desired. But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations...
Infinite Canvas
infinitecanvas.tools/Explore infinite canvas tools that work the way we think
Moonlight towers: light pollution in the 1800s - LOW-TECH MAGAZINE
lowtechmagazine.com/2009/01/moonlight-towers-light-pollution-in-the-1800s.htmlAt the end of the 19th century, many towns and cities were lit up by powerful electrical lamps placed on towers up to 300 feet (90 metres) high. The arc lamp - the first electric light and the predecessor of Edison’s incandescent light bulb - was extremely bright and much more energy efficient than other lighting technologies from those times. The lamps were too strong for indoor use, but they were regarded as the future of municipal lighting. Especially in the United States, many ci...
About 200 years ago, the world started getting rich. Why? - Vox
vox.com/future-perfect/2022/6/1/23138463/how-the-world-became-rich-industrial-revolution-koyama-rubinTwo economic historians explain what made the Industrial Revolution, and modern life, possible.
In 1973, I invented a ‘girly drink’ called Baileys
irishtimes.com/culture/books/in-1973-i-invented-a-girly-drink-called-baileys-1.3240945Being Christmas, I am reminded that Bailey’s Irish Cream was cooked up in the ‘70s by two English guys to take advantage of government export subsidies