#HTE

Surprising Things I Learned in 2019, Part 1

Writing for Core77 gives me plenty of opportunity to learn new facts, some of them quite surprising. Here’s ten that jumped out at me this year:

In the 1950s, Charles and Ray Eames introduced their iconic Lounge chair to America on an NBC TV show.

Today, kids in Finland commute to school by bicycle and sled, in snow, at negative-22 degrees.

The chainsaw was actually invented to cut bone.

There’s an old-school production method called “rose engine turning” that produces complicated radiating patterns in metal.

Irregular and organic shapes can be precisely duplicated using a low-tech “ticking stick.”

Sir Rod Stewart is an incredible architectural modelmaker!

Looking at these 3D White House cutaways, I found out the Oval Office isn’t actually inside the main building.

There is a surprising alternative production method for making heat sinks.

This demo answered the question “How can protective chaps made from mere fabric possibly stop a chainsaw?”

“Shark Tank” millionaire Kevin O'Leary explained why buying or leasing a car is stupid.