Monocles Were Never Cool
Unlike other trappings of the aristocracy, the monocle has mostly been a joke since its invention. An Object Lesson.
The Military Origins of Layering
The popular way to keep warm outdoors owes a debt to World War II–era clothing science. An Object Lesson.
Candy Land Was Invented for Polio Wards
A schoolteacher created the popular board game, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, for quarantined children. An Object Lesson.
How a Bad Night’s Sleep Birthed the Sound Conditioner
In 1960, a Rubbermaid executive invented a device to tame noise in the home. Its impact has been anything but quiet. An Object Lesson.
Nobody Uses Dental Dams
So why do they still exist? An Object Lesson.
Cottage Cheese Is the New Greek Yogurt
Americans’ dairy consumption is about to get a lot more cultured. An Object Lesson.
Smartwatches Are Changing the Purpose of the EKG
Wearables help cast the medical test as a talisman of health-care competence. An Object Lesson.
Why There Are No Nuclear Airplanes
Strategists considered sacrificing older pilots to patrol the skies in flying reactors. An Object Lesson.
Why Coal Symbolizes Naughtiness
And how it should be used instead. An Object Lesson.
The Benefits of a Foreign-Language Tattoo
Even when it goes wrong, body art in another tongue can be a good thing. An Object Lesson.
The Bootleg Video Vans of the Soviet Union
I learned English—and Western culture—watching American movies in smoky minibuses. An Object Lesson.
The Star of Norwegian Knitwear
The selburose design wasn’t invented in Norway, but it became a symbol of the country. An Object Lesson.
The Fax Is Not Yet Obsolete
Law and medicine still rely on the device. Maybe they shouldn’t. An Object Lesson.
The Problem With Feedback
Companies and apps constantly ask for ratings, but all that data may just be noise in the system. An Object Lesson.
When Pop-Up Books Taught Popular Science
Before they were relegated to the domain of children, books with movable mechanisms explained anatomy, astronomy, and more to adults. An Object Lesson.
How Tea Helped Women Sell Suffrage
Private-labeled teas helped fund success during the suffragist movement. Today’s activists might learn from their model. An Object Lesson.
When Televisions Were Radioactive
Anxieties about the effects of screens on human health are hardly new, but the way the public addresses the problems has changed. An Object Lesson.
Throw Your Children’s Art Away
Childhood is short-lived. It’s okay if kids’ drawings are, too. An Object Lesson.
The Mystery of Alexander Hamilton’s Bank Clock
The origins of an 18th-century timepiece are part of an American institution even older than its financial system: embellishing facts. An Object Lesson.
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Writers Have Always Loved Mobile Devices
Writing boxes, popular from the 17th century, provided the same pleasure as today’s laptops and custom word processors: to make the experience of writing pleasurable, whether any actual writing gets done. An Object Lesson.
The Draconian Dictionary Is Back
Since the 1960s, the reference book has cataloged how people actually use language, not how they should. That might be changing. An Object Lesson.
Microfilm Lasts Half a Millennium
Millions of publications—not to mention spy documents—can be read on microfilm machines. But people still see these devices as outmoded and unappealing. An Object Lesson.
Hot-Air Balloons Are Useless
When they were invented, the vessels promised to revolutionize travel and industry. But they soon settled into life as an entertaining diversion. An Object Lesson.
Raising the American Flag Made in China
Is the banner’s patriotism undermined when it’s manufactured abroad? An Object Lesson.
Why Do People Sign Yearbooks?
Commemorative class books evolved from practical notebooks into collections of hair clippings, rhyming couplets, and “have a great summer” wishes. An Object Lesson.
Teaching Sobriety With ‘The Bottle’
Before and after Prohibition, temperance organizations turned the whiskey or beer vessel into a personification of American moral failure.
How the 50-mm Lens Became ‘Normal’
It’s often called the optic that best approximates human vision, but approximation is relative. An Object Lesson.
98 Years of Mail Fraud
How the postal letter became a tool for ingenious criminality. An Object Lesson.
Cupholders Are Everywhere
As people spent more and more time in cars, auto interiors transformed into living spaces, where food and drink became necessities. An Object Lesson.
How Cycling Clothing Opened Doors for Women
Advances in biking gear had an impact on advances in gender equality. An Object Lesson.
Humankind’s Most Important Material
Glass has changed the world like no other substance, but people usually overlook it. An Object Lesson.
The Atomic-Bomb Core That Escaped World War II
Before two deadly nuclear mishaps, scientists used to risk “tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon.” An Object Lesson.
The Bidet's Revival
Invented centuries ago in France, the bidet has never taken off in the States. That might be changing.
Women Are Reinventing the Long-Despised Speculum
The gynecological apparatus, designed by men, has a sordid history. An Object Lesson.
The Jet Engine Is a Futuristic Technology Stuck in the Past
Rockets and turbofans have promised to realize dreams of transportation progress—for decades. An Object Lesson.
The Case for Locking Up Your Smartphone
Lockers and sleeves for phones can feel like an infringement on personal rights, but they also might save people from their worst habits. An Object Lesson.
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My Pacemaker Is Tracking Me From Inside My Body
Cloud-connected medical devices save lives, but also raise questions about privacy, security, and oversight. An Object Lesson.
The Accidental Poison That Founded the Modern FDA
Elixir Sulfanilamide was a breakthrough antibiotic—until it killed more than 100 people. An Object Lesson.
Does ‘Counting Your Blessings’ Work?
Doing so has appealed to people for centuries, but the power of a gratitude list can be misused. An Object Lesson.
The Power Suit’s Subversive Legacy
Women have long borrowed from men’s dress to claim the authority associated with it. It hasn’t always worked. An Object Lesson.
A Birth Certificate Is a Person’s First Possession
Around the world, the document establishes legal, social, and economic legitimacy. But it also makes compromises. An Object Lesson.
How the Index Card Cataloged the World
Carl Linnaeus, the father of biological taxonomy, also had a hand in inventing this tool for categorizing anything. An Object Lesson.
Dog Poo, an Environmental Tragedy
When industrial fertilizer replaced dung heaps, its spoils helped fund the spread of plastics. An Object Lesson.
How a Glass Terrarium Changed the World
The Wardian case made intercontinental plant transport possible—and helped spread empires. An Object Lesson.
How Racial Data Gets 'Cleaned' in the U.S. Census
The national survey offers more identity choices than ever—until those choices get scrubbed away. An Object Lesson.
The Saintliness of Undecayed Corpses
In the medieval church, “incorrupt” remains signaled virtue, chastity, and holiness. An Object Lesson.
Your Bones Live On Without You
The human skeleton inspires wonder and terror because it lasts much longer than its owner. An Object Lesson.
The Underclass Origins of the Little Black Dress
The upper classes once imposed the fashion staple on their servants—then they stole it back from them. An Object Lesson.
How to Escape a Death Spiral
The aviator’s hazard offers a lesson about responding to supposed crises. An Object Lesson.
The Contentious Physics of Wiffle Ball
An engineer sheds light on the ball’s much-debated curve. An Object Lesson.
Oil Barrels Aren't Real Anymore
Once a cask that held crude, the oil barrel is now mostly an economic concept. An Object Lesson.
The Thunderstorm Whisperers
For centuries, lightning rods have tamed the heavens, more or less unchanged. An Object Lesson.
The Lost Origins of Playing-Card Symbols
Cards have been used for gambling, divination, and even commerce. But where did their “pips” come from? An Object Lesson.
Why It’s Better to Carry Weight on Your Head
People have done it for centuries. Maybe everyone still should. An Object Lesson.
The Moral History of Air-Conditioning
Cooling the air was once seen as sinful. Maybe the idea wasn’t entirely wrong. An Object Lesson.
The Hair Dryer, Freedom’s Appliance
For a century, the device has promised more than dry hair. An Object Lesson.
Pictures of Death
When photography was new, it was often used to preserve corpses via their images. An Object Lesson.
Why Geologists Think Glacial Mountains Look Like Sheep
Thank the French. An Object Lesson.
How Wheelchair Accessibility Ramped Up
Ramps evolved from a Greek tool for dragging ships to the front lines of disability activism. An Object Lesson.
The Troubled History of Horse Meat in America
The White House wants to reinstate the sale of horses for slaughter, but eating horse meat has always been politically treacherous. An Object Lesson.