A Series of Tubes
99% Invisible20 Sep 2012

A Series of Tubes

Pneumatic (adj.): of, or pertaining to, air, gases, or wind. In the world before telephone, radio, and email, the tasks of transmitting information and moving material objects were essentially the same challenge. The way you sent someone a message was … Continue reading →

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Pockets: Articles of Interest #3

Pockets: Articles of Interest #3

Womenswear is littered with fake pockets that don’t open, or shallow pockets that can hardly hold more than a paperclip. If women's clothes have pockets at all, they are often and smaller and just fit...

2 Okt 201821min

Plaid: Articles of Interest #2

Plaid: Articles of Interest #2

Lumberjacks wore plaid. Punks wore plaid mini skirts. The Beach Boys used to be called the Pendletones, and they wore plaid with their surfboards. Lots of different groups have adopted the pattern ove...

28 Sep 201818min

Kids' Clothes: Articles of Interest #1

Kids' Clothes: Articles of Interest #1

Clothes are records of the bodies we’ve lived in. Think of the old sweater that you used to have that's just not your style anymore, or the jeans that just aren’t your size anymore. We are like snakes...

25 Sep 201823min

Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time

Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time

The year was 1982, and in the small city of Allentown on the eastern edge of Pennsylvania sat an AM radio station called WSAN. For years, it had broadcast country music to the surrounding Lehigh Valle...

19 Sep 201828min

The House that Came in the Mail

The House that Came in the Mail

The Sear & Roebuck Mail Order Catalog was nearly omnipresent in early twentieth century American life. By 1908, one fifth of Americans were subscribers. At its peak, the Sears catalog offered over 100...

11 Sep 201832min

The First Straw

The First Straw

A straw is a simple thing. It’s a tube, a conveyance mechanism for liquid. The defining characteristic of the straw is the emptiness inside it. This is the stuff of tragedy, and America. The invention...

5 Sep 201824min

Double Standards

Double Standards

Blepharoplasty is often done to lift loose or sagging skin around the upper eyelids caused by aging. But for a lot of people of Asian descent, this surgery is not strictly about aging and more commonl...

29 Aug 201825min

Bundyville

Bundyville

Most of the American west is owned by the Federal Government. About 85 percent of Nevada, 61 percent of Alaska, 53 percent of Oregon, the list goes on.  And there have always been questions about how ...

21 Aug 201842min

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