It is one of the most reliably discussed features of American public life among people who did not grow up with it. The partitions stop well short of the floor,…
There is a horizontal bar across almost every exit door in a public American building. You have pushed thousands of them without looking at one.
It is worth looking, because…
Named after the thing it barely does, and placed under the window deliberately. Here are sixteen.
1. The Name Is Wrong
Only a minority of the heat leaving a typical…
Maintained to a standard, planted facing outward, and sat in by nobody. Here are eleven.
1. It Was Not for the Household
Everything in it faced outward. The flowers were…
The Name Has Been Misleading People for Two Centuries
Almost everybody believes a lightning rod attracts lightning. It is an easy belief to hold, because the thing is pointed, it…
Each building did one job, and the shape is the job. Here are fifteen.
1. A Very Tall Pair of Doors Means Loaded Carts
Enormous doors in the middle of…