Annotated Links #8: Wearing in and Wearing Out

1. Turchin, Peter. "Cultural Evolution of Pants." Social Evolution Forum 7 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

Peter Turchin posits that pants are worn not because of any sort of comfort, but because of social norms - and that these norms evolved over time. His central argument is that in the Classical West everyone wore tunics or chitons, and they believed that only barbarians wore pants (and laughed at them for it, just as non-Scottish Westerners might laugh at men wearing kilts today). This is a blog entry, strewn with illustrative pictures and written in a casual professional style. The entry includes a link to part two of his argument, wherein he explains why horses led to the prevalance and social power of pants in Western society.

2. "Wearable Hummingbird Feeder." Heatstick.com 2010. Web. 18 July 2012.

The product known as eYe2eye is a hummingbird feeding helmet. This site contains videos and pictures of people using the helmet, and a detailed explanation of what the helmet is and what it's made from, all of which implies that the asking price is a fair one. All of the information is presented in a bright and stylized format, with text written in a simple and direct style.

3. Oremus, Will. "Hacker Uses 3-D Printed Keys to Crack Police Handcuffs." Slate 16 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

A German security consultant known only as "Ray" demonstrated how 3-D printing can be used to make effective handcuff keys at a New York conference on Friday 13 July 2012. Police departments use one set of keys for all of their handcuffs from the same manufacturer, meaning that anyone with the right digital blueprint and a 3-D printer could create a key to all of a police department's handcuffs. "Ray" plans to make the digital blueprints for the key he used in his demonstration public to show police how new technology is changing the rules of the security game and to help them to keep vigilant. The article is written in a quick and light style.

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Closing

Don't miss tomorrow's editorial entry, or part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday with a search for the decent in 2011's Trespass. And, of course, come Thursday be sure to watch for Annotated Links #9!

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