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The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to
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The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Beas They Are. Paperback - 1994

by Henry Petroski

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Petroski tells fascinating stories about the arduous processes that resulted in paper clips, Post-its, Phillips-head screwdrivers, Scotch tape, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. "Petroski . . . an examines the simplest . . . tools in our lives with an appraising eye".--Washington Post Book World. 45 illus.

Reader reviews for The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Beas They Are.

From the publisher

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.

From the jacket flap

Petroski tells fascinating stories about the arduous processes that resulted in paper clips, Post-its, Phillips-head screwdrivers, Scotch tape, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. "Petroski . . . an examines the simplest . . . tools in our lives with an appraising eye."--Washington Post Book World. 45 illus.

Details

  • Title The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Beas They Are.
  • Author Henry Petroski
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Vintage, New York
  • Publication date 1994-02-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780679740391 / 0679740392
  • Weight 0.48 lbs (0.22 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.96 x 5.24 x 0.65 in (20.22 x 13.31 x 1.65 cm)
  • Category History - General History
  • Library of Congress subjects Inventions, Patents
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 93006351
  • Dewey Decimal Code 609

Media reviews

"A celebration of inventiveness...By cataloging the clutter of our desks, closets, and workbenches, and giving them a human history, Petroski makes us feel more at home in our homes."- Newsweek

"Petroski is a valuable resource—an engineer who examines the simplest, most ubiquitous tools in our live with an appraising eye."- Washington Post Book World

"Mr. Petroski's case histories delightfully illustrate his thesis... You never know when you will turn a page and find some tiny corner of your mind enlightened."- The New York Times

"Petroski has an eye for the mundane that distracts and delights... [His] wealth of literary and cultural references runs from Aristotle... to Russell Baker... The book has substance."- Newsday

Citations

  • Rec Ref Bks in Paperback, 01/01/2000, Page 93

About the author

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.

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The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and...
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

by Petroski, Henry

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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by Henry Petroski

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The Evolution of Useful Things : How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Beas They Are

by Petroski, Henry

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The Evolution of Useful Things : How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to Beas They Are

by Petroski, Henry

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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

by Petroski, Henry

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