Thursday, October 20, 2011

Who, What, Why | Hidden Heroes – The Genius of Everyday Things

Wire (top) and wooden (bottom) clothes hangersImage via Wikipedia
Who: Hidden Heroes - The Genius of Everyday Things, the forthcoming exhibition at the Science Museum, is thrusting the most unlikely of protagonists into the limelight. Teabags, pencils, corkscrews and coat hangers are among those to be featured in a display dedicated to objects of longstanding, efficient and invaluable design, which have largely been overlooked in our quest for extreme technological advancement and deemed as little more than routine essentials.

What: A celebration of 36 such models of functional and sustainable perfection and their respective inventors, the show will track the creative process of each product: from its conception (through authentic sketches and drawings) to its marketing (through the original advertisements used to promote and establish it). Lesser known facts about our most discreet but dependable implements will also be divulged to visitors: did you know Napoleon played a part in the story of the tin can or the inspiring effect that a descending plane had upon bubble wrap? {Read on}