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The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Be as They Are. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780679740391)
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Henry Petroski
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Books
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Description
xHow 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.Author: Henry Petroski
ISBN-10: 0679740392
ISBN-13: 9780679740391
Publisher: Vintage
Language: English
Published: 02/01/1994
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 7.96h x 5.24w x 0.65d
Review Citation(s):
Rec Ref Bks in Paperback 01/01/2000 pg. 93
By Henry Petroski
xHenry 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.
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