Description
How did the table fork acquire a fourth tine? What advantage does the Phillips-head screw have over its single-grooved predecessor? Why does the paper clip look the way it does? What makes Scotch tape Scotch?
In this delightful book Henry, Petroski takes a microscopic look at artifacts that most of us count on but rarely contemplate, including such icons of the everyday as pins, Post-its, and fast-food clamshell containers. At the same time, he offers a convincing new theory of technological innovation as a response to the perceived failures of existing products--suggesting that irritation, and not necessity, is the mother of invention.Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 02/01/1994
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 7.96h x 5.24w x 0.65d
ISBN13: 9780679740391
ISBN10: 0679740392
BISAC Categories:
- Technology & Engineering | Engineering (General)
- Science | Experiments & Projects
- History | World | General
About the Author
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. The author of more than a dozen previous books, he lives in Durham, North Carolina, and Arrowsic, Maine.