Person in Lotus Position

In 1821, two Rhode Island brothers went looking for buyers for their woolen fabric, and stumbled into a lucrative, captive market: Southern slave plantations. Roman Mars and historian Seth Rockman trace the strange life of so-called "Negro cloth" — a textile category defined by n ... Show More

Behind every perfect nature-inspired design is a far more complicated story. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Sim ... Show More

In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed the way we measure feet forever, and more than a century after its invention…it has barely changed. Roman Mars and journalist Pau ... Show More

<p>We send 10 billion of them every day. Where do they come from? Zachary Crockett hearts this topic.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.emojination.org/who-we-are">Jennifer 8. Lee</a>, co-founder of Emojination.</li></ul></li></ul><p> </p><u ... Show More

We dig into the unexpected origin story of the universal screen language… emoji! We talk to the designers behind emoji, and the steps (and missteps) emoji design took before the icons found their way to our screens. Read the PDF transcript of this episode. 

In 1999, Japanese software developer Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji. The umbrella was one of 176 original images, featuring weather, transport signs, numbers and emotions.He was inspired after noticing the popularity of a pager, aimed at teenagers, that used a heart sym ... Show More

Entrepreneur and attorney Tracey Pickett explores the emoji as a legitimate and important tool for communication. This talk was filmed at TEDxGreenville. All TEDx events are organized independently by volunteers in the spirit of TED's mission of ideas worth spreading. To learn mo ... Show More

<p>Emojis are arguably one of the most effective ways to express emotions when texting. In today's episode, Xuan Lu shares her research on the use of emojis by developers. She explains how the study of emojis can track the emotions of remote workers and predict future behavior. L ... Show More