Download or read book Stories Behind Everyday Things written by Jane Polley and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents 300 articles containing little-known information about "things" that figure in everyday life, such as advertising, shoe polish, ketchup, pajamas, and zippers.
Download or read book Surprising Stories Behind Everyday Stuff written by Stephanie Drimmer and published by National Geographic Kids. This book was released on 2019 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who invented pizza? Why do people shake hands? Why do we wear underwear? You'll find the answers to these questions and more in this new series from National Geographic Kids! Ever wonder how basketball got started? Why we have birthday cakes? And why some people use forks and some use chopsticks? Prepare to be amazed by the surprising backstories behind the things you use or do every day! From familiar foods to common clothing items to bizarre beauty regimens, this book covers all your burning questions: Who thought of that? Where did that come from? Why is that a thing? Presented in a bold, colorful design, with stunning photos, and jam-packed with awesome facts, this book will have you totally riveted! Once you know all this cool stuff about the origins of everyday stuff, you can "wow" your friends and family.
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.
Download or read book Panati s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things written by Charles Panati and published by Chartwell Books. This book was released on 2016-08-15 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relates facts and information about a host of ordinary things ranging from safety pins to negligees.
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
Download or read book Stuff written by John C. Ryan and published by Seattle, Wash. : Northwest Environment Watch. This book was released on 1997 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume takes you to the places and people you touch every day. - BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Origin of Everyday Things written by Johnny Acton and published by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the origins of over 400 everyday items, arranged in alphabetical order.
Download or read book Significant Objects written by Joshua Glenn and published by Fantagraphics Books. This book was released on 2012-08-06 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 100 EXTRAORDINARY STORIES ABOUT ORDINARY THINGS SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS: A Literary and Economic Experiment Can a great story transform a worthless trinket into a significant object? The Significant Objects project set out to answer that question once and for all, by recruiting a highly impressive crew of creative writers to invent stories about an unimpressive menagerie of items rescued from thrift stores and yard sales. That secondhand flotsam definitely becomes more valuable: sold on eBay, objects originally picked up for a buck or so sold for thousands of dollars in total — making the project a sensation in the literary blogosphere along the way. But something else happened, too: The stories created were astonishing, a cavalcade of surprising responses to the challenge of manufacturing significance. Who would have believed that random junk could inspire so much imagination? The founders of the Significant Objects project, that’s who. This book collects 100 of the finest tales from this unprecedented creative experiment; you’ll never look at a thrift-store curiosity the same way again. FEATURING ORIGINAL STORIES BY: Chris Adrian • Rob Agredo • Kurt Andersen • Rachel Axler • Rob Baedeker • Nicholson Baker • Rosecrans Baldwin • Matthew Battles • Charles Baxter • Kate Bernheimer • Susanna Breslin • Kevin Brockmeier • Matt Brown • Blake Butler • Meg Cabot • Tim Carvell • Patrick Cates • Dan Chaon • Susanna Daniel • Adam Davies • Kathryn Davis • Matthew De Abaitua • Stacey • D'Erasmo • Helen DeWitt • Doug Dorst • Mark Doty • Ben Ehrenreich • Mark Frauenfelder • Amy Fusselman • William Gibson • Myla Goldberg • Ben Greenman • Jason Grote • Jim Hanas • Jennifer Michael Hecht • Sheila Heti • Christine Hill • Dara Horn • Shelley Jackson • Heidi Julavits • Ben Katchor • Matt Klam • Wayne Koestenbaum • Josh Kramer • Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer • Neil LaBute • Victor LaValle • J. Robert Lennon • Jonathan Lethem • Todd Levin • Laura Lippman • Mimi Lipson • Robert Lopez • Joe Lyons • Sarah Manguso • Merrill Markoe • Tom McCarthy • Miranda Mellis • Lydia Millet • Maud Newton • Annie Nocenti • Stephen O’Connor • Stewart O’Nan • Jenny Offill • Gary Panter • Ed Park • James Parker • Benjamin Percy • Mark Jude Poirier • Padgett Powell • Bob Powers • Todd Pruzan • Dan Reines • Nathaniel Rich • Peter Rock • Lucinda Rosenfeld • Greg Rowland • Luc Sante • R.K. Scher • Toni Schlesinger • Matthew Sharpe • Jim Shepard • David Shields • Marisa Silver • Curtis Sittenfeld • Bruce Sterling • Scarlett Thomas • Jeff Turrentine • Deb Olin Unferth • Tom Vanderbilt • Matthew J. Wells • Joe Wenderoth • Margaret Wertheim • Colleen Werthmann • Colson Whitehead • Carl Wilson • Cintra Wilson • Sari Wilson • Douglas Wolk • John Wray
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
Download or read book The Beauty of Everyday Things written by Soetsu Yanagi and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2019-01-31 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The daily lives of ordinary people are replete with objects, common things used in commonplace settings. These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things.
Download or read book Panati s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Everybody written by Charles Panati and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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.
Download or read book More Surprising Stories Behind Everyday Stuff written by National Geographic Kids and published by National Geographic Kids. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare to be amazed by the wacky and weird backstories behind the things you use every day! From familiar foods to common clothing items and bizarre beauty regimens to spectacular sports and everything in between, the answers to all of your burning questions - Where did this come from? Who though of that? Why is this a thing? - are in this fun follow-up book! Jam-packed with colourful photos and awesome facts, you'll wow your friends and leave your parents totally stumped!
Download or read book Small Things Big Things written by Michael A. Milton and published by P & R Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This question from a pastor to his congregation is at the heart of these inspiring stories. Mike Milton takes you on a journey through experiences, events, relationships, and private recollections-all pursuing the goal of finding God's grace at work in everyday life.
Download or read book The Authority of Everyday Objects written by Paul Betts and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2004-06-09 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Werkbund to the Bauhaus to Braun, from furniture to automobiles to consumer appliances, twentieth-century industrial design is closely associated with Germany. In this pathbreaking study, Paul Betts brings to light the crucial role that design played in building a progressive West German industrial culture atop the charred remains of the past. The Authority of Everyday Objects details how the postwar period gave rise to a new design culture comprising a sprawling network of diverse interest groups—including the state and industry, architects and designers, consumer groups and museums, as well as publicists and women's organizations—who all identified industrial design as a vital means of economic recovery, social reform, and even moral regeneration. These cultural battles took on heightened importance precisely because the stakes were nothing less than the very shape and significance of West German domestic modernity. Betts tells the rich and far-reaching story of how and why commodity aesthetics became a focal point for fashioning a certain West German cultural identity. This book is situated at the very crossroads of German industry and aesthetics, Cold War politics and international modernism, institutional life and visual culture.
Download or read book The Physics of Everyday Things written by James Kakalios and published by Crown. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Physics professor, bestselling author, and dynamic storyteller James Kakalios reveals the mind-bending science behind the seemingly basic things that keep our daily lives running, from our smart phones and digital “clouds” to x-ray machines and hybrid vehicles. Most of us are clueless when it comes to the physics that makes our modern world so convenient. What’s the simple science behind motion sensors, touch screens, and toasters? How do we glide through tolls using an E-Z Pass, or find our way to new places using GPS? In The Physics of Everyday Things, James Kakalios takes us on an amazing journey into the subatomic marvels that underlie so much of what we use and take for granted. Breaking down the world of things into a single day, Kakalios engages our curiosity about how our refrigerators keep food cool, how a plane manages to remain airborne, and how our wrist fitness monitors keep track of our steps. Each explanation is coupled with a story revealing the interplay of the astonishing invisible forces that surround us. Through this “narrative physics,” The Physics of Everyday Things demonstrates that—far from the abstractions conjured by terms like the Higgs Boson, black holes, and gravity waves—sophisticated science is also quite practical. With his signature clarity and inventiveness, Kakalios ignites our imaginations and enthralls us with the principles that make up our lives.
Download or read book What We Keep written by Bill Shapiro and published by Running Press Adult. This book was released on 2018-09-25 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from Cheryl Strayed, Mark Cuban, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Melinda Gates, Joss Whedon, James Patterson, and many more--this fascinating collection gives us a peek into 150 personal treasures and the secret histories behind them. All of us have that one object that holds deep meaning--something that speaks to our past, that carries a remarkable story. Bestselling author Bill Shapiro collected this sweeping range of stories--he talked to everyone from renowned writers to Shark Tank hosts, from blackjack dealers to teachers, truckers, and nuns, even a reformed counterfeiter--to reveal the often hidden, always surprising lives of objects.
