Brief Histories of Everyday Objects

This graphic book features hilarious and entertaining histories behind everyday objects like paper clips, toothbrushes, sports bras, and roller skates. Award-winning comic artist Andy Warner traces the surprising and complex histories of items we take for granted, structured around different locations in our daily lives. Learn how Velcro was invented by a Swiss engineer, the coffee filter by a German housewife, the Slinky by a naval engineer, and Monopoly by a radical feminist. This book explores how whims shape realities, lies become legends, trade routes emerge, and empires rise and fall—all from the perspective of your toothbrush or toilet.