Really Useful: The origins of everyday things - Softcover

Levy, Joel

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9781552976227: Really Useful: The origins of everyday things

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155297622X ISBN 13: 9781552976227

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2002

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You undoubtedly know what a paperclip is and how to use it, but did you know that during the Second World War the people of Norway adopted paperclips as a symbol of protest against the occupying Nazis? Really Useful tells these and other stories of how the things we use every day came into being.

As much a sociological history as a compendium of entertaining stories, Really Useful takes you on a tour from the kitchen to the bathroom to the office and beyond. Along the way it tells us about the technology, design, social conditions and even intrigue that contributed to these remarkable innovations, which include:

We sometimes curse these things as just so much clutter but in fact they form the fabric of our daily lives and we'd be lost without them. The stories of their origins are as interesting and illuminating as these objects are truly useful.

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About the Author:

Joel Levy is a journalist and writer with degrees in psychology and biology who specializes in science, ancient history, anthropology and film. He is the author of A Natural History of the Unnatural World and has contributed to and edited over 20 titles on subjects as diverse as sex, gardening and back pain.

Introduction

Take a look around your house and you'll see that it's a kind of museum. In every room, on every surface, are the exhibits: everyday things that you take for granted, but each of which has its own story. Really Useful takes you on a tour of this museum, room by room, from top to bottom, exploring the history and workings of more than one hundred everyday objects.

There's plenty of trivia and fascinating tidbits to uncover along the way-did you know, for instance, that the Frisbee is named after a Connecticut piemaker, or that the ant is the only animal that can survive being cooked in a microwave oven? Some broad historical themes also emerge. For instance, many everyday objects have surprisingly long histories, dating back to the dawn of civilization and beyond, and their development often follows a pattern: invented by the ancient Egyptians or Babylonians, perfected by the Greeks and Romans, lost in the Dark Ages, and rediscovered in the Middle Ages, mechanized and electrified by the Victorians, and mass-produced in the 20th century.

The histories of everyday objects, however, are not simply tales of scientific breakthrough, technical progress, and inventive genius, although these have their place. The real driving forces behind invention and innovation are social and cultural ones, and this is doubly true for everyday things. Many of them were not always familiar or ubiquitous, and a second theme to emerge from this book is one of social transition. Items that can now be found in almost every household were once so rare and expensive that only the richest and most powerful could afford them, and they became symbols of rank and privilege in feudal societies. In ancient Egypt, for example, the nobility demonstrated their wealth by having pleats ironed into their clothes, while in ancient Assyria only the king might own an umbrella. As the feudal society gave way to the industrial society, such objects became more affordable and widespread, and during the 20th century mass-produced goods became cheap enough to be available to almost everyone. The industrial society has now become the consumer society, and what was once unattainable has become "everyday."

This is a social transformation that affects every aspect of our lives today, and everyday objects have both reflected and been involved in this transformation. In some respects then, your home is a museum of social change, and the everyday things that it contains are the markers of that change. The next time you pick one up stop for a moment and consider the sheer wealth of history that can be embodied by something as ordinary as an umbrella or as simple as the crease in a pair of pants.

Joel Levy

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