Object Lessons
Articles published in partnership with Object Lessons
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.
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Kirn Vintage Stock / Corbis / Getty Teaching Sobriety With ‘The Bottle’
Before and after Prohibition, temperance organizations turned the whiskey or beer vessel into a personification of American moral failure.
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Kai Pfaffenbach 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.
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John Gress / Reuters 98 Years of Mail Fraud
How the postal letter became a tool for ingenious criminality. An Object Lesson.
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David Aaron Troy / Getty 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.
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Bettmann / Getty / Katie Martin / The ... How Cycling Clothing Opened Doors for Women
Advances in biking gear had an impact on advances in gender equality. An Object Lesson.
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Regis Duvignau / Reuters Humankind’s Most Important Material
Glass has changed the world like no other substance, but people usually overlook it. An Object Lesson.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory 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.
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Louis-Léopold Boilly The Bidet's Revival
Invented centuries ago in France, the bidet has never taken off in the States. That might be changing.
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Lawrence Manning / Getty Women Are Reinventing the Long-Despised Speculum
The gynecological apparatus, designed by men, has a sordid history. An Object Lesson.
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Benoit Tessier / Reuters 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.
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Yuya Shino / Reuters 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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Neta Alexander / Ian Bogost / The Atlantic 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.
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AP The Accidental Poison That Founded the Modern FDA
Elixir Sulfanilamide was a breakthrough antibiotic—until it killed more than 100 people. An Object Lesson.
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Scott Olson / Getty 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.
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Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty 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.
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Radu Sigheti / Reuters 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.
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Daniel Sambraus / Getty 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.
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Richard Baker / Getty Dog Poo, an Environmental Tragedy
When industrial fertilizer replaced dung heaps, its spoils helped fund the spread of plastics. An Object Lesson.
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Kristine Paulus How a Glass Terrarium Changed the World
The Wardian case made intercontinental plant transport possible—and helped spread empires. An Object Lesson.
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Ross D. Franklin / AP 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.
