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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

Gyroscope

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

• 9 mins

Bonus 4: Woodpecker and black box

The last bonus ep of #30Animals. For more, search for 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

• 14 mins

QWERTY

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

• 8 mins

Bicycle

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

• 8 mins

Mail order catalogue

How the Montgomery Ward shopping catalogue transformed the middle-class way of life

• 8 mins

Brick

The humble brick has housed us for thousands of years - will it endure?

• 9 mins

Spreadsheet

How a grid on a computer screen gives us a glimpse of the future of automation

• 10 mins

Recycling

Could recycling save cash, as well as the planet?

• 10 mins

Pornography

Did pornography help develop the internet?

• 8 mins