The Bootleg Video Vans of the Soviet Union
I learned English—and Western culture—watching American movies in smoky minibuses. An Object Lesson.
Object Lessons
Articles published in partnership with Object Lessons
The Star of Norwegian Knitwear
The selburose design wasn’t invented in Norway, but it became a symbol of the country. An Object Lesson.
The Fax Is Not Yet Obsolete
Law and medicine still rely on the device. Maybe they shouldn’t. An Object Lesson.
The Problem With Feedback
Companies and apps constantly ask for ratings, but all that data may just be noise in the system. An Object Lesson.
When Pop-Up Books Taught Popular Science
Before they were relegated to the domain of children, books with movable mechanisms explained anatomy, astronomy, and more to adults. An Object Lesson.
How Tea Helped Women Sell Suffrage
Private-labeled teas helped fund success during the suffragist movement. Today’s activists might learn from their model. An Object Lesson.
When Televisions Were Radioactive
Anxieties about the effects of screens on human health are hardly new, but the way the public addresses the problems has changed. An Object Lesson.
Throw Your Children’s Art Away
Childhood is short-lived. It’s okay if kids’ drawings are, too. An Object Lesson.
The Mystery of Alexander Hamilton’s Bank Clock
The origins of an 18th-century timepiece are part of an American institution even older than its financial system: embellishing facts. An Object Lesson.
Writers Have Always Loved Mobile Devices
Writing boxes, popular from the 17th century, provided the same pleasure as today’s laptops and custom word processors: to make the experience of writing pleasurable, whether any actual writing gets done. An Object Lesson.