The Weekly Thingdown: Candy bars, Oprah chairs, cassettes, etc.

11 Objects That Mattered This Week

Thingdown is a weekly roundup of things — objects, products, stuff — that are lately in the news or otherwise of interest right now.

(I’m not actually linking to or embedding this ad; that’s just a screenshot.)

1. The pathetic absurdity of the limited-edition HerSHEy’s bar. (My latest Object of the Week for Marker.)
2. “5G Conspiracy Theories Are Fueling an Entire Economy of Scammy Gadgets.”
3. Is “a dirtbag” an actual object? An investigation.
4. People reports you can get chairs similar to the ones Oprah provided Harry and Meghan, at Wal-Mart. Now you know. (H/T Gloria Oh)
5. The history of clear electronic devices in prisons.
6. The fossil fuel industry convinced you to prefer gas stoves. (H/T Danielle Sacks)
7. First covid-19 vaccine vial goes to Smithsonian. Meanwhile, there’s a global scramble for syringes.
8. “Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues.”
9. Jazz Popcorn Robot.
10. The inventor of the cassette tape has died. Here’s a fun cassette roundup on Flashbak. Here’s something I wrote about DIY mixtape covers for Design Observer. And here’s a Consumed about the endurance of the cassette idea.
11. & finally, here (via swissmiss) is the only good thing to happen involving a selfie stick:

I really am linking to and embedding this video; it’s cool.

Follow me on Medium here; follow Marker, where I write about design, brands, and other matters, all in the company of many terrific fellow contributors, here. More about me here; the newsletter associated with my latest book, The Art of Noticing, is here.

Leave your object-related tips in the comments — and have a nice weekend!