{"product_id":"small-things-considered-why-there-is-no-perfect-design-9781400032938","title":"Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design","description":"Why has the durable paper shopping bag been largely replaced by its flimsy plastic counterpart? What circuitous chain of improvements led to such innovations as the automobile cup holder and the swiveling vegetable peeler? With the same relentless curiosity and lucid, witty prose he brought to his earlier books, Henry Petroski looks at some of our most familiar objects and reveals that they are, in fact, works in progress. For there can never be an end to the quest for the perfect design. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo illustrate his thesis, Petroski tells the story of the paper drinking cup, which owes its popularity to the discovery that water glasses could carry germs. He pays tribute to the little plastic tripod that keeps pizza from sticking to the box and analyzes the numerical layouts of telephones and handheld calculators. \u003cb\u003eSmall Things Considered\u003c\/b\u003e is Petroski at his most trenchant and provocative, casting his eye not only on everyday artifacts but on their users as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Henry Petroski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/14\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.7lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781400032938\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVintage Books Edition\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43256168644745,"sku":"9781400032938","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_07e372ca-228d-416d-9951-ba51e4a77d62.jpg?v=1736238060","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/small-things-considered-why-there-is-no-perfect-design-9781400032938","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}