Episode notes
Alex Schmidt is joined by comedy writer and podcaster Jeff Rubin (The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, CollegeHumor.com) and comedy writer and author Joel Stein (‘In Defense Of Elitism’) for a look at why wooden blocks are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week’s bonus episode.
LINKS FOR THE GUESTS:
- The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show (Headgum)
- LiesGame.com
- In Defense Of Elitism: Why I’m Better Than You and You are Better Than Someone Who Didn’t Buy This Book by Joel Stein
RESOURCES USED TO INFORM THE EPISODE’S LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
RESEARCH SOURCES:
- 99% Invisible: “Froebel’s Gifts”
- Building Blocks, Literally (Tedium.co)
- Lincoln Logs Company, est. 1916 (The Made In Chicago Digital Museum)
- Construction Toys Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Grand View Research)
- Centre Kapla Lyon build tallest tower made from wooden toy blocks to promote construction workshops in France (Guinness Book of World Records)
- Longest alphabet (Guinness Book of World Records)
- Capsela Is Dead, Long Live Capsule (Hackaday)
- Construx (Wikipedia)
- The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: “World Records for World Records”
- Ashrita Furman’s website
- Lincoln Logs: The Modular Legacy of Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Second Son (99% Invisible website article)
- Frank Lloyd Wright merged eastern and western architecture at Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (Dezeen)
- Frank Lloyd Wright (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- How Melissa & Doug captured the toy market, one wooden block at a time (Vox)
- Designing the Creative Child: Playthings and Places in Midcentury America by Amy F. Ogata
- Toys At MoMA (The New Yorker)
- Playing Around Throughout History (Tedium.co)
- Ten Facts about the Great Video Game Crash of ’83 (IGN)
- 6 Reasons Montessorians Love Wooden Toys (MontiKids.com)
In this episode...
Guests
- Joel Stein
- Jeff Rubin
About the show
A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator, and ‘Jeopardy!‘ champion Alex Schmidt. Join Alex & his co-host Katie Goldin for a joyful deep dive into seeing the world a whole new way!
Get in touch with the show
@sifpod
@sifpod
SIF on Discord!People
How to listen
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