Nobody numbered a house until somebody official wanted something. Here are eleven.
1. Numbering Was Imposed, Not Adopted
Systematic house numbering spread through Europe in the eighteenth century, introduced by…
A traffic light looks like the simplest control system in existence: three lamps, one at a time, in a fixed order. Almost everything about it is a compromise between constraints…
Mostly about air, not water. Here are fifteen.
1. The Bend Is Holding Water on Purpose
Every fixture has a trap, a dip in the pipe that retains water after…
Watch the top of an escalator for a few seconds and something slightly impossible happens. A flat plate slides out from under a comb, then rises into a step, then…
The least designed-looking thing in the street, and all of it is deliberate. Here are ten.
1. The Backrest Decides How Long You Stay
A bench with a back supports…
Everything that happened in a room is recorded in what you are standing on. Here are fifteen.
1. Board Width Dates the House Roughly
Very wide boards generally mean early…