Every ordinary thing has an extraordinary story.

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Every ordinary thing has an extraordinary story.

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One Night of Fire, a Century of Cul-de-Sacs: How the Great Chicago Fire Built the American Suburb
Tech & Culture

One Night of Fire, a Century of Cul-de-Sacs: How the Great Chicago Fire Built the American Suburb

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 killed hundreds, leveled miles of the city, and left tens of thousands homeless overnight. It also — entirely by accident — set in motion the construction revolution that would eventually fill the American landscape with the ranch houses, subdivisions, and quiet suburban streets we take for granted today.
How a Bad Spelling Joke From 1839 Boston Became the Most Spoken Word on Earth
Tech & Culture

How a Bad Spelling Joke From 1839 Boston Became the Most Spoken Word on Earth

Two letters. Used billions of times a day. Understood in virtually every language on the planet. And the whole thing started as a throwaway gag in a Boston newspaper that almost nobody remembers. The origin of 'OK' is one of the most specific — and most improbable — stories in the history of the English language.
The Rise, Fall, and Endless Comeback of Digg: The Website That Almost Owned the Internet
Tech & Culture

The Rise, Fall, and Endless Comeback of Digg: The Website That Almost Owned the Internet

Before Reddit became the front page of the internet, there was Digg — a scrappy social news site that had the whole tech world buzzing. This is the story of how it rose to the top, crashed spectacularly, and kept trying to claw its way back.