Culture
The Black Gospel Music Restoration Project
In addition to being the golden age of gospel music, the years between 1945 and 1970 present another unique challenge: it's a sort of limbo period for copyrights where music that doesn't have commercial value, but which has immeasurable social and spiritual value, is being lost.
Click the headline to listen to an NPR feature with Robert Darden from Baylor, who is leading the initiative to discover and save this music, or click right here to listen to some of what they've saved.
Intelligence Throughout History: The Impact of Pearl Harbor
A little history lesson on how the coordination and communication problems we experience in the business world and our every-day lives are exactly like what governments face when trying to keep our country safe.
Dinosaurs Had Feathers?
Scientists have long suspected this might be true, but now we have proof. It's crazy to think about how our imaginations as children aren't nearly as awesome as what was really real.
Business
That Time I Was Fired
In the spirit of history lessons, I want to lead off this newsletter by sharing something a little more personal than normal. I wrote an article recently about being fired early in my career. There are many lessons to learn from our past.
YKK zippers: Why so many designers use them.
I love reading about businesses that get in on a thing and do it for a long time. Like zippers. This Japanese company makes 7 billion zippers a year. That's a whopping 50% of the market share.
Design
Why Cartoon Characters Wear Gloves
Have you ever wondered why cartoon characters wear gloves? Watch this five-minute video to learn something. Watch it all the way through, it's great.