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The Colour of Money (R)
Episode 54
United States paper currency is so ubiquitous that to really look at its graphic design with fresh eyes requires some deliberate and focused attentio…
11 years, 5 months ago
Devil’s Rope
Episode 157
In the mid 1800s, not many (non-native) Americans had ever been west of the Mississippi. When Frederick Law Olmstead visited the west in the 1850s, h…
11 years, 6 months ago
Coin Check
Episode 156
The United States Military is not known for being touchy-feely. There’s not much hugging or head-patting, and superiors don’t always have the authori…
11 years, 6 months ago
Palm Reading
Episode 155
Reports of palm theft have appeared in LA, San Diego, and Texas; palm rustling also gets a mention in Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief. To understand …
11 years, 6 months ago
PDX Carpet
Episode 154
Portlanders have a tradition when visiting their airport: taking a picture of their feet. It’s not to show off their shoes, but rather, what’s under …
11 years, 6 months ago
Game Over (R)
Episode 153
A few months before the end of the world, everyone was saying their goodbyes. The world that was ending was The Sims Online, an online version of The…
11 years, 7 months ago
Guerrilla Public Service
Episode 152
At some point in your life you’ve probably encountered a problem in the built world where the fix was obvious to you. Maybe a door that opened the wr…
11 years, 7 months ago
La Mascotte
Episode 151
The idea of the mascot came to America by way of a popular French opera from the 1880s called La Mascotte. The opera is about a down-on-his luck farm…
11 years, 7 months ago
Under The Moonlight
Episode 150
In 1885, Austin, Texas was terrorized by a serial killer known as the Servant Girl Annihilator. The murderer was never actually found, but he claime…
11 years, 7 months ago
Of Mice And Men
Episode 149
If you are looking at a computer screen, your right hand is probably resting on a mouse. To the left of that mouse (or above, if you’re on a laptop) …
11 years, 8 months ago