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Santa Claus

Consumerism and Christmas have gone hand in hand for a surprisingly long time

• 14 mins

Series 2

Langstroth Hive

The Langstroth Hive: a wooden box that made the industrialisation of the bee possible.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Cellophane

Cellophane transformed how consumers purchased food, as well as how producers sold it.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Gyroscope

The gyroscope: a remarkable device used to guide everything from submarines to satellites.

• 14 mins

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QWERTY

From the early typewriters, the QWERTY keyboard layout has stood the test of time.

• 14 mins

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Mail Order Catalogue

Montgomery Ward鈥檚 catalogue: once ranked among the most influential books in US history.

• 14 mins

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Bricks

Bricks: used for tens of thousands of years and still such a vital building technology.

• 14 mins

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Spreadsheet

The digital spreadsheet: a technology which took the world of accountancy by storm.

• 14 mins

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Recycling

The idea recycling is a moral obligation, as well as an economic one, is relatively new.

• 14 mins

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Pencil

The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market, but is that true?

• 14 mins

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Bicycle

Has the bicycle had its day? Or is it a technology whose best years lie ahead?

• 14 mins

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Dwarf Wheat

Norman Borlaug averted famine predictions by tinkering with the genetic design of wheat.

• 14 mins

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Like button

Facebook鈥檚 ubiquitous 'like' button can reveal a treasure trove of potential insights.

• 14 mins

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Blockchain

Blockchain: a digital technology that some say could become as disruptive as the internet.

• 14 mins

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Factory

Have factories been a force for improving the conditions of ordinary workers?

• 14 mins

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Cubesat

Satellites were once the length of a bus. Now they鈥檙e roughly the size of a Beanie Baby.

• 14 mins

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Rubber

Natural rubber still goes mostly into tyres, and its production still causes controversy.

• 14 mins

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Postage Stamp

Rowland Hill went from disgruntled user to radical reformer of Britain鈥檚 postal system.

• 14 mins

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RFID

Is RFID introducing an 'internet of things'? Or are its glory days behind it?

• 14 mins

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Fire

Has fire created not only the economy, but also modern humans?

• 14 mins

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Cassava

What does cassava teach us about the hidden social forces that support a modern economy?

• 14 mins

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Solar Photovoltaics

Solar power: an old technology now more advanced and disruptive to the oil energy order.

• 14 mins

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Chatbot

Have computers finally passed the Turing test, convincing us they themselves are human?

• 14 mins

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Oil

The price of oil is arguably the most important price in the world economy.

• 14 mins

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Interchangeable Parts

Interchangeable parts revolutionised the world of engineering.

• 14 mins

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Canned Food

What does canned food have in common with Silicon Valley? More than you might think.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Interface Message Processor

The Interface Message Processor: the most important hunk of silicon you鈥檝e never heard of.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Prohibition

The idea of the 鈥渞ational criminal鈥� helps explain why Prohibition was so widely flouted.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Bonsack Machine

One historian of the cigarette industry reckons it invented much of modern marketing.

• 14 mins

Series 2

GPS

GPS is sometimes called the 鈥渋nvisible utility鈥�. What would happen if it stopped working?

• 14 mins