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Have you ever wondered who first worespectacles, how soap and toothpastewere invented, who created Coca-Cola or when the earliest newspaperappeared? The Curious History ofEveryday Things is packed with theintriguing stories of how items like thesefirst came to be. Whether deliberatelydesigned or accidentally discovered,these innovations have changed the waywe live. From matches to stilettos, cocoato aeroplanes, discover the entertaining,intriguing and sometimes astonishingorigins of over 500 everyday things.
Book Synopsis The Curious History of Everyday Things by : Reader's Digest
Download or read book The Curious History of Everyday Things written by Reader's Digest and published by Reader's Digest Association. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered who first worespectacles, how soap and toothpastewere invented, who created Coca-Cola or when the earliest newspaperappeared? The Curious History ofEveryday Things is packed with theintriguing stories of how items like thesefirst came to be. Whether deliberatelydesigned or accidentally discovered,these innovations have changed the waywe live. From matches to stilettos, cocoato aeroplanes, discover the entertaining,intriguing and sometimes astonishingorigins of over 500 everyday things.
Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.
Book Synopsis A Million Years in a Day by : Greg Jenner
Download or read book A Million Years in a Day written by Greg Jenner and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.
The Elements of a Home reveals the fascinating stories behind more than 60 everyday household objects and furnishings. Brimming with amusing anecdotes and absorbing trivia, this captivating collection is a treasure trove of curiosities. With tales from the kitchen, the bedroom, and every room in between, these pages expose how napkins got their start as lumps of dough in ancient Greece, why forks were once seen as immoral tools of the devil, and how Plato devised one of the earliest alarm clocks using rocks and water—plus so much more. • A charming book for anyone who loves history, design, or décor • Readers discover tales from every nook and cranny of a home. • Entries feature historical details from locations all over the world, including Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. As a design historian and former managing editor of Design*Sponge, author Amy Azzarito has crafted an engaging, whimsical history of the household objects you've never thought twice about. The result is a fascinating book filled with tidbits from a wide range of cultures and places about the history of domestic luxury. • Filled with lovely illustrations by Alice Pattullo • Perfect for anyone who adores interior design, trivia, history, and unique facts • Great for those who enjoyed The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy by Rick Beyer, An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Patrick and John Thompson, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins
Book Synopsis The Elements of a Home by : Amy Azzarito
Download or read book The Elements of a Home written by Amy Azzarito and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Elements of a Home reveals the fascinating stories behind more than 60 everyday household objects and furnishings. Brimming with amusing anecdotes and absorbing trivia, this captivating collection is a treasure trove of curiosities. With tales from the kitchen, the bedroom, and every room in between, these pages expose how napkins got their start as lumps of dough in ancient Greece, why forks were once seen as immoral tools of the devil, and how Plato devised one of the earliest alarm clocks using rocks and water—plus so much more. • A charming book for anyone who loves history, design, or décor • Readers discover tales from every nook and cranny of a home. • Entries feature historical details from locations all over the world, including Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. As a design historian and former managing editor of Design*Sponge, author Amy Azzarito has crafted an engaging, whimsical history of the household objects you've never thought twice about. The result is a fascinating book filled with tidbits from a wide range of cultures and places about the history of domestic luxury. • Filled with lovely illustrations by Alice Pattullo • Perfect for anyone who adores interior design, trivia, history, and unique facts • Great for those who enjoyed The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy by Rick Beyer, An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Patrick and John Thompson, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins
Hilarious, entertaining, and illustrated histories behind some of life's most common and underappreciated objects - from the paperclip and the toothbrush to the sports bra and roller skates In the tradition of A Cartoon History of the Universe and, most recent, Randall Munroe's What If? comes Brief Histories of Everyday Objects, a graphic tour through the unusual creation of some of the mundane items that surround us in our daily lives. Chapters are peppered with ballpoint pen riots, cowboy wars, and really bad Victorian practical jokes. Structured around the different locations in our home and daily life—the kitchen, the bathroom, the office, and the grocery store—award-nominated illustrator Andy Warner traces the often surprising and sometimes complex histories behind the items we often take for granted. Readers learn how Velcro was created after a Swiss engineer took his dog for a walk; how a naval engineer invented the Slinky; a German housewife, the coffee filter; and a radical feminist and anti-capitalist, the game Monopoly. This is both a book of histories and a book about histories. It explores how lies become legends, trade routes spring up, and empires rise and fall—all from the perspective of your toothbrush or toilet.
Book Synopsis Brief Histories of Everyday Objects by : Andy Warner
Download or read book Brief Histories of Everyday Objects written by Andy Warner and published by Picador. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilarious, entertaining, and illustrated histories behind some of life's most common and underappreciated objects - from the paperclip and the toothbrush to the sports bra and roller skates In the tradition of A Cartoon History of the Universe and, most recent, Randall Munroe's What If? comes Brief Histories of Everyday Objects, a graphic tour through the unusual creation of some of the mundane items that surround us in our daily lives. Chapters are peppered with ballpoint pen riots, cowboy wars, and really bad Victorian practical jokes. Structured around the different locations in our home and daily life—the kitchen, the bathroom, the office, and the grocery store—award-nominated illustrator Andy Warner traces the often surprising and sometimes complex histories behind the items we often take for granted. Readers learn how Velcro was created after a Swiss engineer took his dog for a walk; how a naval engineer invented the Slinky; a German housewife, the coffee filter; and a radical feminist and anti-capitalist, the game Monopoly. This is both a book of histories and a book about histories. It explores how lies become legends, trade routes spring up, and empires rise and fall—all from the perspective of your toothbrush or toilet.
From a New York Times-bestselling historian comes the story of how the alphabet ordered our world. A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification -- Yale listed its students by their family's social status until 1886. And yet, while the order of the alphabet now rules -- libraries, phone books, reference books, even the order of entry for the teams at the Olympic Games -- it has remained curiously invisible. With abundant inquisitiveness and wry humor, historian Judith Flanders traces the triumph of alphabetical order and offers a compendium of Western knowledge, from A to Z. A Times (UK) Best Book of 2020
Book Synopsis A Place for Everything by : Judith Flanders
Download or read book A Place for Everything written by Judith Flanders and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a New York Times-bestselling historian comes the story of how the alphabet ordered our world. A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification -- Yale listed its students by their family's social status until 1886. And yet, while the order of the alphabet now rules -- libraries, phone books, reference books, even the order of entry for the teams at the Olympic Games -- it has remained curiously invisible. With abundant inquisitiveness and wry humor, historian Judith Flanders traces the triumph of alphabetical order and offers a compendium of Western knowledge, from A to Z. A Times (UK) Best Book of 2020
Surprising history of ordinary things Learn the fascinating history and trivia you never knew about things we use daily from the host of The Story Behind podcast. Everyday objects and major events in history: Every single thing that surrounds us has a story behind it. Many of us learn the history of humans and the major inventions that shaped our world. But what you may not have learned is the history of objects we surround ourselves with every day. You might not even know how the major events in history (World Wars, ancient civilizations, revolutions, etc.) influenced the inventions of things we use today. The history and science behind the ordinary: From the creator of The Story Behind podcast comes this revelatory new book. The Story Behind will give insight into everyday objects we don’t think much about when we use them. Topics covered in the podcast will be examined in more detail along with many new fascinating topics. Learn how lollipops got started in Ancient Egypt, how podcasts were invented, and why Comic Sans was created. Learn the torture device origins of certain exercise equipment and the espionage beginnings of certain musical instruments. Ordinary things from science to art, food to sports, customs to fashion, and more are explored. Readers will: • Understand the wonders behind everyday objects • Learn truly obscure history and fun facts that will change the way they see the world • Learn how major historic events still affect us today through seemingly mundane things • Become formidable trivia masters
Book Synopsis The Story Behind by : Emily Prokop
Download or read book The Story Behind written by Emily Prokop and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surprising history of ordinary things Learn the fascinating history and trivia you never knew about things we use daily from the host of The Story Behind podcast. Everyday objects and major events in history: Every single thing that surrounds us has a story behind it. Many of us learn the history of humans and the major inventions that shaped our world. But what you may not have learned is the history of objects we surround ourselves with every day. You might not even know how the major events in history (World Wars, ancient civilizations, revolutions, etc.) influenced the inventions of things we use today. The history and science behind the ordinary: From the creator of The Story Behind podcast comes this revelatory new book. The Story Behind will give insight into everyday objects we don’t think much about when we use them. Topics covered in the podcast will be examined in more detail along with many new fascinating topics. Learn how lollipops got started in Ancient Egypt, how podcasts were invented, and why Comic Sans was created. Learn the torture device origins of certain exercise equipment and the espionage beginnings of certain musical instruments. Ordinary things from science to art, food to sports, customs to fashion, and more are explored. Readers will: • Understand the wonders behind everyday objects • Learn truly obscure history and fun facts that will change the way they see the world • Learn how major historic events still affect us today through seemingly mundane things • Become formidable trivia masters
Why do so many Americans drive for miles each autumn to buy a vegetable that they are unlikely to eat? While most people around the world eat pumpkin throughout the year, North Americans reserve it for holiday pies and other desserts that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. They decorate their houses with pumpkins every autumn and welcome Halloween trick-or-treaters with elaborately carved jack-o'-lanterns. Towns hold annual pumpkin festivals featuring giant pumpkins and carving contests, even though few have any historic ties to the crop. In this fascinating cultural and natural history, Cindy Ott tells the story of the pumpkin. Beginning with the myth of the first Thanksgiving, she shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to fulfull their desire to maintain connections to nature and to the family farm of lore, and, ironically, how small farms and rural communities have been revitalized in the process. And while the pumpkin has inspired American myths and traditions, the pumpkin itself has changed because of the ways people have perceived, valued, and used it. Pumpkin is a smart and lively study of the deep meanings hidden in common things and their power to make profound changes in the world around us.
Book Synopsis Pumpkin by : Cindy Ott
Download or read book Pumpkin written by Cindy Ott and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do so many Americans drive for miles each autumn to buy a vegetable that they are unlikely to eat? While most people around the world eat pumpkin throughout the year, North Americans reserve it for holiday pies and other desserts that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. They decorate their houses with pumpkins every autumn and welcome Halloween trick-or-treaters with elaborately carved jack-o'-lanterns. Towns hold annual pumpkin festivals featuring giant pumpkins and carving contests, even though few have any historic ties to the crop. In this fascinating cultural and natural history, Cindy Ott tells the story of the pumpkin. Beginning with the myth of the first Thanksgiving, she shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to fulfull their desire to maintain connections to nature and to the family farm of lore, and, ironically, how small farms and rural communities have been revitalized in the process. And while the pumpkin has inspired American myths and traditions, the pumpkin itself has changed because of the ways people have perceived, valued, and used it. Pumpkin is a smart and lively study of the deep meanings hidden in common things and their power to make profound changes in the world around us.
Japan was the only non-Western nation to industrialize before 1900 and its leap into the modern era has stimulated vigorous debates among historians and social scientists. In an innovative discussion that posits the importance of physical well-being as a key indicator of living standards, Susan B. Hanley considers daily life in the three centuries leading up to the modern era in Japan. She concludes that people lived much better than has been previously understood—at levels equal or superior to their Western contemporaries. She goes on to illustrate how this high level of physical well-being had important consequences for Japan's ability to industrialize rapidly and for the comparatively smooth transition to a modern, industrial society. While others have used income levels to conclude that the Japanese household was relatively poor in those centuries, Hanley examines the material culture—food, sanitation, housing, and transportation. How did ordinary people conserve the limited resources available in this small island country? What foods made up the daily diet and how were they prepared? How were human wastes disposed of? How long did people live? Hanley answers all these questions and more in an accessible style and with frequent comparisons with Western lifestyles. Her methods allow for cross-cultural comparisons between Japan and the West as well as Japan and the rest of Asia. They will be useful to anyone interested in the effects of modernization on daily life.
Book Synopsis Everyday Things in Premodern Japan by : Susan B. Hanley
Download or read book Everyday Things in Premodern Japan written by Susan B. Hanley and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-04-28 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan was the only non-Western nation to industrialize before 1900 and its leap into the modern era has stimulated vigorous debates among historians and social scientists. In an innovative discussion that posits the importance of physical well-being as a key indicator of living standards, Susan B. Hanley considers daily life in the three centuries leading up to the modern era in Japan. She concludes that people lived much better than has been previously understood—at levels equal or superior to their Western contemporaries. She goes on to illustrate how this high level of physical well-being had important consequences for Japan's ability to industrialize rapidly and for the comparatively smooth transition to a modern, industrial society. While others have used income levels to conclude that the Japanese household was relatively poor in those centuries, Hanley examines the material culture—food, sanitation, housing, and transportation. How did ordinary people conserve the limited resources available in this small island country? What foods made up the daily diet and how were they prepared? How were human wastes disposed of? How long did people live? Hanley answers all these questions and more in an accessible style and with frequent comparisons with Western lifestyles. Her methods allow for cross-cultural comparisons between Japan and the West as well as Japan and the rest of Asia. They will be useful to anyone interested in the effects of modernization on daily life.
The stories behind the invention and development of everyday objects in home and offices.
Book Synopsis Really Useful by : Joel Levy
Download or read book Really Useful written by Joel Levy and published by Willowdale, Ont. : Firefly Books. This book was released on 2002 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stories behind the invention and development of everyday objects in home and offices.
Part history book, part puzzle book, The Curious History of the Riddle is fully illustrated with over 250 riddles interspersed throughout the text for solving, so get ready to put on your thinking cap! The Curious History of the Riddle investigates the fascinating origin and history of the riddle, from the very first riddle (the Riddle of the Sphinx) to the twenty-first century, with riddles found in pop culture, including movies, books, and video games. Riddles are ageless, timeless, and so common that we hardly ever reflect upon what they are and how they originated. Riddles come in all languages and from all eras of human history, making them a truly “curious” history. In The Curious History of the Riddle, puzzle expert Marcel Danesi delves deep into the riddle's origin and offers a concise snapshot of riddles throughout time—from the Riddle of the Sphinx, to the riddles in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, to those found in the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings book series, and much more—covering these fascinating topics: Ancient riddles Medieval riddles Riddles in the Renaissance Riddles as part of leisure culture Riddles in literature Riddles in popular culture Rebuses as visual riddles The Puzzlecraft series from Wellfleet Press tackles some of the greatest conundrums of our time. Learn how to navigate the world’s trickiest mazes, solve the most complex crosswords, and finally get the answer to “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Follow literature’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he guides you through hundreds of challenging cross-fitness brain exercises inspired by his most popular cases and adventures. You can also train your memory to perform better and learn the meanings behind your own personality traits or the traits of others. These handy and portable paperbacks are sized perfectly to travel, whether on vacation or just for your daily commute. The intricately designed covers and bold colors will capture your attention as much as the engaging content inside. Other titles in the series include: The Curious History of Mazes; The Curious History of the Crossword; Escape from Sherlock Holmes; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Code Breakers; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Math & Logic Games; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Visual Puzzles; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Lateral Brain Teasers; Solving Sherlock Homes; Solving Sherlock Holmes Volume II; Maximize Your Memory; and The Book of Personality Tests.
Book Synopsis The Curious History of the Riddle by : Marcel Danesi
Download or read book The Curious History of the Riddle written by Marcel Danesi and published by Wellfleet Press. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part history book, part puzzle book, The Curious History of the Riddle is fully illustrated with over 250 riddles interspersed throughout the text for solving, so get ready to put on your thinking cap! The Curious History of the Riddle investigates the fascinating origin and history of the riddle, from the very first riddle (the Riddle of the Sphinx) to the twenty-first century, with riddles found in pop culture, including movies, books, and video games. Riddles are ageless, timeless, and so common that we hardly ever reflect upon what they are and how they originated. Riddles come in all languages and from all eras of human history, making them a truly “curious” history. In The Curious History of the Riddle, puzzle expert Marcel Danesi delves deep into the riddle's origin and offers a concise snapshot of riddles throughout time—from the Riddle of the Sphinx, to the riddles in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, to those found in the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings book series, and much more—covering these fascinating topics: Ancient riddles Medieval riddles Riddles in the Renaissance Riddles as part of leisure culture Riddles in literature Riddles in popular culture Rebuses as visual riddles The Puzzlecraft series from Wellfleet Press tackles some of the greatest conundrums of our time. Learn how to navigate the world’s trickiest mazes, solve the most complex crosswords, and finally get the answer to “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Follow literature’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he guides you through hundreds of challenging cross-fitness brain exercises inspired by his most popular cases and adventures. You can also train your memory to perform better and learn the meanings behind your own personality traits or the traits of others. These handy and portable paperbacks are sized perfectly to travel, whether on vacation or just for your daily commute. The intricately designed covers and bold colors will capture your attention as much as the engaging content inside. Other titles in the series include: The Curious History of Mazes; The Curious History of the Crossword; Escape from Sherlock Holmes; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Code Breakers; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Math & Logic Games; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Visual Puzzles; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Lateral Brain Teasers; Solving Sherlock Homes; Solving Sherlock Holmes Volume II; Maximize Your Memory; and The Book of Personality Tests.
