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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

Dwarf wheat

Feeding a hungry world 鈥� how Norman Borlaug used genetics to tackle predicted famines

• 9 mins

'Like' button

Are we addicted to getting 'likes' on social media?

• 8 mins

Pencil

Is the pencil underrated?

• 10 mins

Blockchain

How powerful could the technology behind Bitcoin be?

• 10 mins

Factory

Have factories made workers' lives better?

• 8 mins

CubeSat

How a student engineering challenge has changed the way we use space

• 9 mins

Rubber

An everyday substance with a bloody past

• 9 mins

Postage stamp

How a disgruntled customer revolutionised the postal service

• 10 mins

RFID: The tech you鈥檝e never heard of 鈥� but use every day

Radio frequency identification is the foundation of many contactless technologies

• 10 mins

Fire

Does the story of economics really begin with a spark?

• 9 mins

Cassava

A toxic plant that sheds light on hidden social forces

• 9 mins

Solar PV

How important is solar power to the future of the planet?

• 9 mins

Chatbot

Can a computer convince you that it's human?

• 10 mins

Oil

How did the price of oil become so important?

• 8 mins

Interchangeable parts

The manufacturing revolution that started with a gun

• 10 mins

Canned food

The surprising lessons lurking under the lid

• 9 mins

Interface Message Processor

The big metal box that made the internet possible

• 10 mins

Prohibition

How much does it cost to outlaw something?

• 10 mins

Bonsack machine

Why did a machine for making cigarettes transform the advertising industry?

• 9 mins

GPS

What would happen if GPS stopped working?

• 9 mins

Vickrey turnstile

How did an invention that was never built help make the modern world?

• 9 mins

Glasses

A vital aid for many, but billions don't know they need them

• 10 mins

Wedgwood

What does the fashion industry owe to an 18th-century potter?

• 9 mins

SWIFT

A system that solved big problems is now facing its greatest challenge

• 10 mins

Fundraising appeal

What's the best way to get people to give to charity?

• 9 mins