Explore 72 Tedium Collections - Atlas Obscura
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television

Searching for Genesis StoryTime, a Lost Canadian Cable Channel

It used a technology known as videotex to distribute children’s books over television screens.
Andrew Egan May 24, 2018
This is not tomato sauce.
food

Heinz’s Decades-Long Attempt to Convince Australia That Ketchup Is Awesome

Australians grew up with tomato sauce. Heinz wants to sell them (nearly identical) ketchup.
Ernie Smith December 21, 2017
An old rotary dial telephone resting on a directory, c. 1930s.
telephones

The Unexpected Logic Behind Area Codes

Why aren’t they laid out in an obvious way, like ZIP Codes are?
Ernie Smith December 5, 2017
An articulated view of a Discopter in flight, floating through the night sky above the San Francisco Bay.
tedium

The Long, Strange History of People Filing Flying Saucer Patents

From the "Discopter" of Alexander Weygers to a soaring car.
Ernie Smith October 27, 2017
A place setting with a napkin from <em>American Cookery</em>, 1914.
food

A Brief History of Napkins, From Soft Dough to Paper

They're currently under threat from paper towels.
Ernie Smith September 6, 2017
Unbreakable combs can be traced back to 19th-century developments in plastic and rubber.
hair

A Brief History of the Unbreakable Comb

They were important in the evolution of both plastic and rubber, among other things.
Ernie Smith August 18, 2017
The <em>Who's Who</e> began in Britain in 1849.
books

The Weird, Vain History of Who's Who Books

From an early pet project to mockery and scams.
Ernie Smith August 3, 2017
The nozzle of a bottle of Toilet Duck.
bathrooms

The Surprisingly Recent Innovation of the Toilet Duck

It wasn't with us until the '80s.
Ernie Smith July 21, 2017
Aerosol cans of Windex were introduced in the late '50s.
technology

A Brief History of Window Cleaning

Windex has been with us for a very long time.
Ernie Smith July 17, 2017
An estimated 500 million plastic straws are used by Americans every day.
technology

A Brief History of the Modern-Day Straw, the World’s Most Wasteful Commodity

Americans use 500 million of them every single day.
Ernie Smith July 7, 2017
Anatol Josepho, the inventor of the "Photomaton" photo booth, shown here in 1927.
photography

When 'Broadway's Greatest Quarter-Snatcher' Was a Photo Booth

The year was 1925.
Andrew Egan June 28, 2017
sports

The Short, Groundbreaking History of Major League Volleyball

It used to be an ESPN mainstay.
Ernie Smith June 7, 2017
Guinness, now no longer made using fish bladder.
beer

The Surprising Challenges of Making Things Vegan

It took Guinness, for one, years.
Ernie Smith May 10, 2017
An Amtrak train in California.
trains

The Consequences of Amtrak Not Owning Its Own Tracks

Was your train late, recently?
Ernie Smith May 2, 2017
A modern color printer.
printing

Why the Roots of Color Printing Are in Limestone

The stage was set more than 200 years ago.
Ernie Smith April 25, 2017
The Penny Black stamp.
tedium

The Improbable Endurance of the Lickable Envelope

Why are we still doing this?
Ernie Smith April 18, 2017
A Rax in Lancaster, Ohio.
food

The Surprising Resilience of Failed Fast Food Chains

Losing can be an opportunity to do something different.
Ernie Smith April 4, 2017
A suction cup.
technology

The Strange Business of Suction Cups

“The suction cup holds it fast to anything the cup is stuck to," The New York Times said in 1925.
Ernie Smith March 29, 2017