Everyday things

The first stories in this collection are on their way.

Coming up

• A Fishing Rod Gave France the Non-Stick Pan 1954–1956 · France
• A Late-Night Joke Emptied America's Shelves December 1973 · The Tonight Show, USA
• A Three-Year-Old's Question Invented the Instant Photo 1943 · Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
• A War Blockade Invented the Modern Pencil 1795 · Paris, France
• Britain's Power Grid Watches TV for the Kettles 4 July 1990 · England v West Germany World Cup semi-final, UK
• Bubble Wrap Was Meant to Be Wallpaper 1957 · Hawthorne, New Jersey, USA
• Did a Melted Chocolate Bar Really Invent the Microwave? 1945 · Raytheon, Waltham, Massachusetts
• Google's Spare Computers Proved Every Cube Takes 20 Moves July 2010 · USA and Germany (Google's donated computers)
• Harrods Served Brandy After the First Escalator Ride 16 November 1898 · Harrods, Knightsbridge, London
• London Jeered the First Man With an Umbrella 1750s–1786 · London, England
• Ming China Ordered 720,000 Sheets of Toilet Paper c. 589 and 1393 · China
• Nigeria's Clay Fridge That Runs on Wet Sand 1990s · northern Nigeria