From pencils used as wartime resources to fortune cookies invented in America, everyday items hold bizarre, forgotten histories. Discover the strange origins of common phrases, measurements, and even the genetically identical banana on your kitchen counter.
Uncover the forgotten origins of everyday life: from the melted candy bar that invented the microwave to medieval archers creating darts. These objects and phrases are hidden chapters in the story of human ingenuity.
From rubber ducks born from WWII materials to traffic lights adapted from railroads, everyday objects hide extraordinary histories of accident, innovation, and cultural change that transformed them into icons.
From paperclips used as wartime resistance symbols to bananas facing extinction and elevators that made skyscrapers possible, everyday objects hold extraordinary hidden histories that reveal human ingenuity, accident, and cultural evolution.
From paperclips as wartime resistance symbols to bananas facing extinction, everyday objects hold extraordinary histories. Discover why keyboards slow you down, ketchup frustrates you, and pencils are yellow in these surprising backstories.