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Tally Stick

The tally stick shows us what money really is: a kind of debt that can be traded freely

• 9 mins

Index Fund

Warren Buffett is one of the world鈥檚 great investors. His advice? Invest in an index fund

• 9 mins

Infant Formula

For many new mothers who want, or need, to get back to work, infant formula is a godsend

• 9 mins

Tax Havens

Gabriel Zucman invented an ingenious way to estimate how much wealth is hidden offshore

• 9 mins

Barbed Wire

鈥淟ighter than air, stronger than whiskey鈥� 鈥� barbed wire wreaked huge changes in America

• 9 mins

Department Store

Harry Selfridge pioneered a whole new retail experience with his London department store

• 9 mins

Leaded Petrol

When lead was added to petrol it made cars more powerful 鈥� but it also poisoned people

• 9 mins

Dynamo

The big story behind the way dynamos made electricity useful

• 9 mins

Limited Liability Company

How some legal creativity has created vast wealth down the centuries

• 9 mins

Paper Money

Currency derives value from trust in the government which issues it

• 9 mins

Seller Feedback

Without seller feedback, companies like eBay might not have grown as they have

• 9 mins

Plastic

We make so much plastic these days that it takes about eight percent of oil production

• 9 mins

Market Research

Market research marked a shift from a producer-led to consumer-led approach to business

• 9 mins

Radar

A high-tech 鈥榙eath ray鈥� capable of zapping sheep led to the invention of radar

• 9 mins

S-Bend

The S-bend was a pipe with a curve in it, an invention that led to public sanitation

• 9 mins

Double-entry Bookkeeping

Renaissance man Luca Pacioli wrote the definitive book on double-entry bookkeeping

• 9 mins

Management Consulting

If managers often have a bad reputation, what about those who tell them how to manage?

• 9 mins

Searching for 51

The extra 鈥渢hing鈥� 鈥� what should it be?

• 9 mins

Property Register

Property rights for the world's poor could unlock trillions in 鈥榙ead capital鈥�

• 9 mins

Welfare State

Do welfare states boost economic growth, or stunt it? It鈥檚 not an easy question to answer

• 9 mins

Cold Chain

Refrigeration revolutionised the food industry, and other industries too

• 9 mins

The Plough

The plough kick-started civilisation 鈥� and ultimately made our modern economy possible

• 9 mins

Number 51

Revealed 鈥� the winning 51st Thing! Which 鈥渢hing鈥� won the vote to be added to our list?

• 9 mins

Special Bonus: Santa Claus

Why does Father Christmas wear red and white? It is not for the reason you may think

• 9 mins

Coming soon: Season two

Fifty more things are on their way! Tim Harford returns with season two on 25 March 2019

• 1 min

Bonus: 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

Introducing our new podcast about innovation, technology and the animal kingdom

• 15 mins

Langstroth Hive

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

• 11 mins

Bonus 2: Octopus and camouflage

Episode 2 of our new podcast, 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

• 13 mins

Cellophane

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

• 9 mins

Bonus 3: Mosquito and surgical needle

Episode 3 of our new podcast: the blood-sucking pest and a pain-free surgical needle

• 15 mins