50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Clock

Clock

02/18/17 • 9 min

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There’s no such thing as “the correct time”. Like the value of money, it’s a convention that derives its usefulness from the widespread acceptance of others. But there is such a thing as accurate timekeeping. That dates from 1656, and a Dutchman named Christiaan Huygens. In the centuries since, as Tim Harford explains, the clock has become utterly essential to almost every area of the modern economy.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: A wall clock. Credit: Shutterstock)

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: A wall clock. Credit: Shutterstock)

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Google

The words 'clever' and 'death' crop up less often than 'Google' in conversation. That’s according to researchers at the University of Lancaster in the UK. It took just two decades for Google to reach this cultural ubiquity. Larry Page and Sergey Brin – Google’s founders – were not, initially, interested in designing a better way to search. Their Stanford University project had a more academic motivation. Tim Harford tells the extraordinary story of a technology which might shape our access to knowledge for generations to come.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: Google logo and search box on a screen. Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

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Disposable Razor

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King Camp Gillette came up with an idea which has helped shape the modern economy. He invented the disposable razor blade. But, perhaps more significantly, he invented the two-part pricing model which works by imposing what economists call “switching costs”. If you’ve ever bought replacement cartridges for an inkjet printer you experienced both when you discovered that they cost almost as much as the printer itself. It’s also known as the “razor and blades” model because that’s where it first drew attention, thanks to King Camp Gillette. Attract people with a cheap razor, then repeatedly charge them for expensive replacement blades. As Tim Harford explains, it’s an idea which has been remarkably influential.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: Razor, Credit: Shutterstock)