2016 Tedium Highlight by Ernie Smith: Large, below-the-surface underground cities are far from a new phenomenon, but big cities are feeling squeamish about adding or expanding them. Here's why. 

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Ernie Smith’s 2016 Highlights

December 2016

A Finish Line In Sight

The state of our tedium in 2017 is a bit worrying, but there are just enough bright spots to make yet another year of drudgery worthwhile.

The Difficult Second Album

Tedium is a pretty cool newsletter. But two stories a week is a little limiting. So we're making room for the overflow.

The Many Lives of Packard Bell

When it was a radio-maker, Packard Bell had a reputation for quality products. When a PC clone startup bought the name, that reputation fell apart—fast.

The Sound Of Science

Bose Wave stereo systems were legitimately innovative when they launched in the '90s—as was Bose itself. The marketing might make you forget that, though.

Gifts For People You Don’t Like

Need to weed out some of the folks on your gift list? Buy them some of the stuff listed here. You won't have to worry about buying them a gift next year.

The Digital Fine Print

The recent saga Evernote faced with its privacy policy proves the document's necessity. But did you know there's no single federal law mandating its use?

An Annoying Clicking Sound

The hardware company Iomega pulled off a neat trick with its Zip disk: It was proprietary, but popular. But it was a bad thing when things started clicking.
November 2016

Security In Stereo

Car stereos have historically been both valuable and easy to spot in an idle vehicle, making them a key target for thieves. Why has that changed?

Out Of Memory Error

In the mid-1980s, the RAM industry and the oil industry had a lot in common: The price fluctuations could get severe. Things got really bad in 1988.

A Big Idea, Synthesized

Casio claimed it could fit the sounds of dozens of musical instruments into its keyboards. Maybe it wasn't totally true, but the Casiotone gave us a lot.

Lessons From The Video Professor

For more than 20 years, John Scherer’s Video Professor offered instructional videos and discs to make computers accessible to novices. Where did it go?

Junk Food’s Happiest Accident

For more than 50 years, cheese curls have been a staple of the modern junk food diet. You won't believe how we first discovered them.

Anything But Politics

Don't worry guys. We found something else to write about tonight besides the 2016 election. Relax. There are many interesting links here.

War, Peace, And Action Figures

G.I. Joe was a massive hit toy in the '80s, but activists and parents alike didn't like the message it fostered. Enter the "Ban War Toys" movement.
October 2016

The Original In-App Purchase

It wasn't just about games. In the '80s and '90s, shareware democratized the way computer software was sold. Unfortunately, adware sort of dimmed its charm.

Own To Rent

Home ownership is down. Rentals are up. So are monthly rents—and not just in big cities. How can we get the rental crisis in check before it's too late?

We Were Selling Computers All Wrong

Big-box stores have never really been a great fit for selling computers, and a big reason for that is that retailers didn't initially know how to sell them.

No Acquiring This Taste

The world's worst flavor was developed in a lab by accident. You've probably never tasted Bitrex, but it's all over your home.

Getting The Next Word In

The word processor doesn't just deserve scolding. Here's an honest look at some budding word-processor innovation efforts. They're worth writing home about.
September 2016

Adapters, Unplugged

They're big, clunky, and annoying, but AC adapters are a fact of life in consumer electronics. Why? Let's just say Thomas Edison's getting his comeuppance.

The Big Data Jukebox

When AllMusic launched 25 years ago, it wasn't an obvious big data play. But it became one. Hidden in its millions of entries is music's collective history.

We Screwed Up

Standardization has long ruled the world of screws. Despite that, screw standards differ between North America and the rest of the world. Here's why.

The Internet Will Be Televised

Two decades ago, WebTV launched a bold idea into the mainstream … and caught the fringes. What can we learn about the internet from this noble failure?

What a Wonderful World

Staffed by former Atari employees and with a big hit on its hands, Worlds of Wonder tried to ride Teddy Ruxpin to the promised land. They failed, fast.

I'm Floating On Air

The air mattress provided the spark for Airbnb, and other weird air mattress facts. By the way, why the heck do they always deflate so easily?
August 2016

Let's Teach Textbooks A Lesson

The prices of college textbooks are absurd—to the point where authors have to defend their $300 books. But we could, thankfully, be turning a corner.

Eye Of The Tiger

Tiger Electronics' LCD-based games shouldn't have been as successful as they were against the Game Boy. But the company was anything but a failure. Why?

Bare-Metal Writing

Over the decades, word processors have continually gained new features that get in the way of the ultimate goal: writing. How do we get back to that goal?

When Robots Can Write

We're a long ways from a robot becoming the next great American novelist. But an Israeli startup hopes to get 'bots writing more than ever.

Tastes Great, Less Filling

Everyone with a little taste in beer loves to hate on light beer, but it's worth pointing out that it's one of the greatest-ever marketing success stories.

They Should Stop

The singular "they" is the Rodney Dangerfield of grammar, despite being around far longer than "he or she." But is they close to mainstream acceptance?

Recorded For Quality Assurance

It seems like we've been dealing with frustrating call centers forever. But, as it turns out, customer service via phone is a relatively recent phenomenon.
July 2016

Asbestos: It Isn't Snow

Asbestos is the rare example of a widely used mainstream product that was litigated out of existence. BTW, it was used for fake snow in The Wizard of Oz.

What Made Scunthorpe Famous

It certainly wasn't the view. The British city of Scunthorpe has had a problem dogging it for decades, and lazy online programmers are to blame.

Charmeleon Chaos Theory

Laugh all you want, but Pokémon Go offers a really good example of a key libertarian economic theory in action. Spontaneous order was never so much fun.

Time Is Running Out

The Y2K bug got the public more familiar with the survivalist lifestyle than ever. However, despite all the soothsayers, the public didn't take the bait.

The Best Mouse Pads Money Could Buy

Bob McDermand had a hit on his hands when he started the first mouse pad manufacturer. So what was the problem? MousTrak's mouse pads were simply too good.

So Many Random Phone Numbers

What’s hiding in the telephone system? These weird phone numbers carry some of the strangest, creepiest automated messages you’ve ever heard. Give ’em a call.
June 2016

Waaaaay Left of the Dial

Listening to 87.7 FM? That's not a radio station, but an old analog TV station—channel 6, to be exact. It's a total fluke, but Chicago's all over it.

Let’s Destroy the White House … Again

The film Independence Day is known for an epic scene in which the White House is turned into small chunks of America. How did they do that?

The Lost (And Found) Levels

Video games are full of unused content that developers assumed would never been seen. A group of digital archaeologists, however, are proving them wrong.

Honey, I Shrunk The Page

Microfiche (or microfilm, depending on how you roll) is a library mainstay, but its history is wild, according to this note I got from a carrier pigeon.

Clouds In My Coffee

Coffee shops are our community centers, and if handled right, coffee culture can be full of just as much richness as whatever they put in your Anthora cup.

We Could Be Happy Underground

Large, below-the-surface underground cities are far from a new phenomenon, but big cities are feeling squeamish about adding or expanding them. Here's why.

A Banner Decade

The Print Shop, Brøderbund's most popular app when that meant a whole lot, had a huge impact on computing. So why is it in the bargain bin these days?
May 2016

Let 'Er Rip

We wear clothes with clothing tags pretty much daily, but never think about it. Where did they come from? Credit two major forces: Unions and regulators.

Hot Pocket Diaspora

Jim Gaffigan jokes aside, Hot Pockets made a family of expat Iranian Jews into billionaires—billionaires who have jumped into philanthropy with both feet.

Bizarre String Theories

Most guitarists don't tend to think it's a good idea to put foreign objects on their prized rock instruments. But some do, and they make the craziest music.

We All Make Mistakes

If you make a mistake today, don't fret. Everyone else around you has made a bunch, too. Errors, in a lot of ways, give us our wrinkles as human beings.

When Signal Beats Noise

The concept of "DXing"—basically, trying to capture TV or radio signals from far away—is nearly as old as the antenna. It's a great rabbit hole.

America The Processed

One of the broadest possible geographic terms is, for now, the new name of Budweiser. Does Budweiser deserve "America," and if not, what does?

Let's Talk Toner

The Xerox photocopier was an impressive display of technology that seemed to come out of nowhere. But it was artists who really tested the device's limits.
April 2016

Purple Copyright Eater

When Prince died, he left behind a massive legacy of music. He left behind an equally massive legacy of copyright enforcement. Here's why.

Chartered Waters

Being gatekeepers, music charts have a massive influence on the songs we hear on the radio. And that influence isn't exclusive to Billboard, by the way.

Between the Bars

A fateful decision by the movie industry six decades ago created a long-term compatibility problem between film and television. The solution? Letterboxing.

Jack Abramoff, Film Producer

Before Jack Abramoff became an infamous lobbyist, he co-wrote and produced a schlocky Dolph Lundgren film that broke a cultural boycott of South Africa.

Seedy Politics

We've come a long way from the government giving away free seeds. Nowadays, the seed industry is so powerful it's not even clear if seed exchanges are safe.
March 2016

Back That Thang Up

Much like on our laptops and cloud servers, there are some valuable physical objects we'd like to back up. (Think fine art.) Is 3D printing the answer?

Your Secret Amiga

In the '90s, the Prevue Guide—the scrolling spreadsheet of a cable channel that told you what was on the air—kept the Amiga alive way after Commodore died.

No Vacancy

Hotels are bastions of consistency, especially when it comes to the amenities. But with Airbnb out there, is hotel psychology losing its grip on travelers?

Let's Bowl 'Em Over

Could cereal's waning popularity in the United States have something to do with a lack of exotic options? Let's look at what the rest of the world is doing.

Damage & Dissonance

Sure, we're used to seeing rockers break guitars. But depending on the six-string being thrown, a broken guitar can ruin a rock star's entire weekend.

You Can't Drink Saltwater

We’re getting better at converting saltwater to drinkable freshwater, but the environmental costs of the desalination process aren’t cheap.
February 2016

A Magazine You Can't Bend

For a brief time in the '90s, publishers thought that CD-ROM magazines were the future. But, as it turned out, readers were more interested in the internet.

Books on Vinyl

Audiobooks are common these days, but advocates for those with vision disabilities saw their value early—as well as the value of the vinyl record.

A Little off the Top

The average barber shop or hair salon for some reason has a major aversion to credit cards despite their wide use. Blame the economics of being a barber.

Brand Indigestion

"Gut Guy," Xifaxan's infamous intestine-shaped mascot, is disturbing, but it's OK; he's gonna make Valeant Pharmaceuticals a billion dollars this year.

You Don't Win Friends With Salad

The salad bar is something that many restauranteurs claim to have invented, but we know for sure that just one guy invented the sneeze guard.

Greenlandia

The Arctic country of Greenland is one of the world's sparsest and most remote, but despite that, the country has had success in building unique culture.
January 2016

Rock & Retro

Before there was "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero," bands didn't really know how to handle making video games. Which meant their games were usually very bad.

The Drugs Don't Work

Why are we so ready to look toward alternative medicine when the regular kind of medicine generally does the job? Maybe it's a tonal thing.

Smells Like a Stupid Idea

From a machine to send smells over the internet to a cartridge full of terrible games, some of the most terrible product ideas ever put into the market.

I'd Buy That for a Dollar

Don't be fooled by the names of chains like Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, or Five Below. These companies, like all dollar stores, are big business.

Hipster Mattresses: Why?

The hipster mattress in a tightly wound box is for some reason the hottest bedding trend at the moment, but what's so cool about a dumb mattress?

Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Step by step, most TV show theme song composers hide in the shadows, with their most famous moments glossed over and anonymized, everywhere you look.

The Sauce-Packet Squeeze

How long do sauce packets last, and can you recycle these old Heinz Ketchup packs? We research condiment packaging so you don't have to.

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