The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Be as They Are. - Paperback
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Languages:EnglishPublisher:VintageISBN-13:9780679740391ISBN-10:679740392UPC:9780679740391Book Category:Technology & Engineering, Science, HistoryBook Subcategory:Engineering (General), Experiments & Projects, WorldSize:7.96 x 5.24 x 0.65 inchesWeight:0.4806Product ID:SC3GTVK1AB
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.Languages:EnglishPublisher:VintageISBN-13:9780679740391ISBN-10:679740392UPC:9780679740391Book Category:Technology & Engineering, Science, HistoryBook Subcategory:Engineering (General), Experiments & Projects, WorldSize:7.96 x 5.24 x 0.65 inchesWeight:0.4806Product ID:SC3GTVK1AB
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. The author of more than a dozen previous books, he lives in Durham, North Carolina, and Arrowsic, Maine.
Publisher: Vintage
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