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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - QWERTY - BBC Sounds

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - QWERTY - BBC Sounds

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

QWERTYQWERTY

Released On: 20 Apr 2019

Available for over a year

From the early typewriters, the QWERTY keyboard layout has stood the test of time

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
QWERTY
From the early typewriters, the QWERTY keyboard layout has stood the test of time
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
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Has the bicycle had its day, or is it a technology whose best years lie ahead?
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Mail order catalogue
How the Montgomery Ward shopping catalogue transformed the middle-class way of life
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The humble brick has housed us for thousands of years - will it endure?
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How a grid on a computer screen gives us a glimpse of the future of automation
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Could recycling save cash, as well as the planet?
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Did pornography help develop the internet?
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Are we addicted to getting 'likes' on social media?
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Is the pencil underrated?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
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How powerful could the technology behind Bitcoin be?
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Have factories made workers' lives better?
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How a student engineering challenge has changed the way we use space
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Rubber
An everyday substance with a bloody past
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Postage stamp
How a disgruntled customer revolutionised the postal service
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RFID: The tech you’ve never heard of – but use every day
Radio frequency identification is the foundation of many contactless technologies
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Fire
Does the story of economics really begin with a spark?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Cassava
A toxic plant that sheds light on hidden social forces
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
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How important is solar power to the future of the planet?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Chatbot
Can a computer convince you that it's human?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Oil
How did the price of oil become so important?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Interchangeable parts
The manufacturing revolution that started with a gun
10 mins
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Canned food
The surprising lessons lurking under the lid
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Interface Message Processor
The big metal box that made the internet possible
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Prohibition
How much does it cost to outlaw something?
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Bonsack machine
Why did a machine for making cigarettes transform the advertising industry?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
GPS
What would happen if GPS stopped working?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Vickrey turnstile
How did an invention that was never built help make the modern world?
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Glasses
A vital aid for many, but billions don't know they need them
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Wedgwood
What does the fashion industry owe to an 18th-century potter?
9 mins
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
SWIFT
A system that solved big problems is now facing its greatest challenge
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