Small Things That Made a Big Difference: 100 Everyday Inventions Transformed History

How much human ingenuity can fit inside a needle, a fishhook, or an ordinary ruler? The quietest objects in our lives carry extraordinary stories. Through one hundred illustrated entries, Paulo Ehms looks again at the inventions that cut, fasten, measure, protect, preserve, move, and illuminate - many of them so perfectly resolved that their essential design has survived for centuries. From the spoon to the bearing, from the plumb line to the faucet, each chapter blends history, technology, curiosity, and design in a lively, accessible voice. - See how simple needs produced remarkably durable solutions. - Discover why some objects seem to have reached a nearly perfect design. - Return to familiar things with completely new eyes. The Ehms Treasury celebrates the human intelligence working quietly in our pockets, kitchens, schools, workshops, and everywhere else.