This Day in Blogging History: How is a $12 phone possible? UK wine-sellers declare that wine has horoscopes; Burger King Subservient Chicken

Cory Doctorow 6:00 am Fri Apr 18, 2014

One year ago today

How is a $12 phone possible? Bunnie's teardown shows a little bit about how this $12 piece of electronics can possibly be profitable, but far more tantalizing are his notes about Gongkai, "a network of ideas, spread peer-to-peer, with certain rules to enforce sharing and to prevent leeching."

Five years ago today

UK wine-sellers declare that wine has horoscopes, advise wine-drinkers to avoid certain moon-days: The idea that the taste of wine changes with the lunar calendar is gaining credibility among the UK's major retailers, who believe the day, and even hour, on which wine is drunk alters its taste.

Ten years ago today
Food Porn — Burger King Subservient Chicken: …For when "your way" calls for an enslaved chicken, Burger King invites you to "have chicken your way" by offering you the newest in ads even veteran AdBusters won't want to bust: The Subservient Chicken.

Blogging History: Painting characters on coin-heads; UK wants brawl-proof pint glasses; EFF kicks Diebold's ass

One year Coins painted as fictional characters: Andre Levy, a designer in Frankfurt, likes to paint coins. Five years Britain seeks ban on glass pint-glasses to prevent bar-brawl injuries: The… READ THE REST
Blogging History: Soviet plane-spotting head-gear; Ralph Lauren visits Uncanny Valley; Internet bubble's blessings

One year Soviet plane-spotting head-gear: Drakegoodman scanned this 1917-ish photo of Soviet planespotters in exotic headgear; according to a commenter, the binox are focused at infinity "so that when you… READ THE REST
Blogging History: Non-gender kids' clothes retail; London cops apologize for geek-mugging; Lucas ships Xbox malware

One year Better way to organize kids' clothing departments: Ever since our daughter's birth, my wife Alice and I have found ourselves shopping the "boys" section of the department stores… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST