Object Histories
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The Scandalous History of the Fork | Object Histories
When a Byzantine princess brought a two-pronged golden fork to an Italian wedding in the 11th century, the clergy called it sinful — proof, they said, that God’s own fingers weren’t good enough for her. For the next several hundred years, most of Europe agreed and ate with its hands. This is the surprising, genuinely…
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The Umbrella’s Scandalous History | Object Histories
Real men didn’t carry umbrellas. For most of history, that wasn’t a joke, it was the rule. From royal Assyrian sunshades and Chinese oiled-paper rain umbrellas, to 2,000 years of feminine stigma, one Englishman who endured 30 years of public mockery just to carry one, and the steel-ribbed redesign that finally made it ordinary —…
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The Mirror’s Deadly Monopoly | Object Histories
Seeing your own face used to be a luxury almost nobody could afford. From polished obsidian at Çatalhöyük and sacred bronze in Han dynasty China, to a Venetian state secret guarded by assassins, Louis XIV’s spiteful Hall of Mirrors, and the chemist who finally made mirrors cheap enough for everyone — this is the surprising…
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The Toothbrush Was Invented in Prison | Object Histories
Ancient people cleaned their teeth by chewing on sticks, and it worked better than you’d think. From 5,000-year-old chew sticks in Babylon and Egypt, to a prison cell in 1780 London, hog-bristle brushes from Ming dynasty China, and the DuPont chemists who replaced them with nylon — this is the surprising history of the object…
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The Accidental History of the Pencil | Object Histories
The best writing tool on Earth was found by accident, after a storm knocked over a tree in 16th-century England. From a graphite deposit so valuable it was guarded by armed soldiers, to a wartime blockade that gave us the H and B hardness scale, Henry David Thoreau’s family pencil factory, and a diamond-themed marketing…
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The Zipper’s Surprising History | Object Histories
It took 80 years to catch on, and it wasn’t even invented for pants. From an 1851 patent nobody bothered to sell, to a jamming boot fastener at the 1893 World’s Fair, the engineer who finally got the design right, a tire company that named it after the sound it made, and the surrealist designer…
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Sunglasses Weren’t Invented for the Sun | Object Histories
Sunglasses weren’t invented for the sun. From Inuit snow goggles and Chinese judges hiding their expressions behind smoky quartz, to Army Air Corps pilots and Hollywood’s favorite disguise — this is the full, surprising history of the object on your face right now. Shop the styles/items featured in this video: Classic Aviator Sunglasses Retro Wayfarer-Style…
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The General Behind Chewing Gum | Object Histories
Chewing gum has a general hiding in it. From Stone Age birch tar and Maya tzictli, to an exiled Mexican general’s failed rubber scheme, a soap salesman who stumbled into a gum empire, and the accountant who invented pink bubble gum by accident — this is the full, surprising history of the thing in your…
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The Comb Is Older Than the Wheel | Object Histories
The comb might be the oldest grooming tool humans ever made — older than the wheel itself. From a 5,500-year-old ivory comb carved with a giraffe in ancient Egypt, to Roman delousing kits, Viking grave goods, a medieval coronation ritual, an accidental plastics fire hazard, and a clenched-fist symbol of the Black Power movement —…
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This Drill Bored Into Human Skulls | Object Histories
Note: this object was posted twice to YouTube with two different video IDs. We’re using the newer upload below. This drill was built to bore straight through a human skull — and people survived it. Ancient healers used flint, shark teeth, and sheer skill to perform brain surgery millennia before anesthesia existed. Trepanning is one…