Blog
Phlogiston: The Wrong Idea That Organized a Field
In the early 1700s, European chemists embraced phlogiston theory—the idea that combustible materials contained a fire‑like principle released during burning or calcination. It was elegant, teachable, and, for a while, useful. Then Antoine Lavoisier measured mass gains during combustion and argued for a new actor—oxygen—collapsing the old frame and founding modern chemistry. (Phlogiston theory, Antoine Lavoisier, Oxygen) (more…)
The Day GPS Went Public: Midnight Without the Blur
Late on May 1, 2000 (UTC May 2), the U.S. government turned off Selective Availability (SA)—the intentional signal distortion that kept civilian GPS readings fuzzy. Overnight, backyard receivers tightened from ~100 meters to ~10. What changed wasn’t the satellites in orbit but the policy governing their signals. That one decision unlocked consumer navigation, geocaching, app‑based mapping, precision farming, and global logistics at scale. (more…)
Changelog as Story: How Software Talks to Users
Most users never read the whole documentation, but many skim the changelog. It’s the heartbeat of a product, announcing fixes, features, and sometimes values. Treating it as narrative—rather than a dump of bullet points—can improve adoption, reduce support tickets, and build trust. (more…)
When Pneumatic Mail Ruled the Streets
Imagine sending a message across town in minutes. For a slice of the late‑19th and early‑20th centuries, cities did exactly that with pneumatic posts: capsules whisked through iron tubes by air pressure. Banks and department stores still use smaller in‑building versions. But at its peak, entire municipalities pulsed with air‑driven correspondence. (more…)
The Secret Life of the Ampersand
No other punctuation mark gets as much personality as the ampersand. Designers collect them, brands spotlight them, and sign‑painters treat them like a signature flourish. Yet the symbol began humbly: as a scribal ligature of Latin et—”and.” Over centuries, the mark split into styles, from the looping humanist forms to the rationalist figure‑8 constructions. (more…)
Why Door Handles Are Brass: Hygiene Before UX
Before “user experience” became a product discipline, buildings made quiet design decisions in the name of public health. The humble brass door handle is one of them. Hospitals, schools, and civic buildings installed copper‑alloy hardware not for prestige but for a simple promise: it might stay cleaner, longer, between cleanings. That logic traveled from 19th‑century germ theory debates to 20th‑century building codes, and eventually into the ordinary places where we spend our days. The gold tone is a side effect of a material that balances machinability, durability, and a reputation for hygiene. (more…)