The Evolution of Useful Things : How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are.
Aleksandar S Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History Henry Petroski
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
9780679740391
0-679-74039-2
How did the table fork acquire a fourth tine? What advantage does the Phillips-head screw have over its single-grooved predecessor? Why does the paper clip look the way it does? What makes Scotch tape Scotch? In this delightful book Henry, Petroski takes a microscopic look at artifacts that most of us count on but rarely contemplate, including such icons of the everyday as pins, Post-its, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. At the same time, he offers a convincing new theory of technological innovation as a response to the perceived failures of existing products--suggesting that irritation, and not necessity, is the mother of invention.