Curiosities

Hesperus Labs
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A story-driven explainer about whatever I'm currently curious about — the history of an object, how a market works, a corner of physics, a question about probability, a cultural phenomenon. Each episode takes one thing apart and shows you the mechanism underneath: what makes the problem hard, who actually solved it, what it cost, and the part that still doesn't quite fit. No lecture, no listicle, no fake enthusiasm. Episode one: a genuinely hard load-bearing problem, two handkerchiefs, and a sizing system that was never a measurement of anything.

Episodes

  1. Aug 7

    The Price of Right Now

    On the sixth of May, twenty-ten, a share of Accenture sold for one cent. Not because anything was wrong with Accenture — because for a few minutes, nobody was standing on the other side. This is about the people whose entire job is to stand there, what they charge for it, and why the price of that service is hidden in plain sight in every trade you have ever made. Chapters 00:00 One cent 01:27 Who stands there 02:41 The three costs 05:50 One man one stock 07:43 The day the cushion vanished 09:51 The value of not knowing 12:13 Nobody has to be there 14:53 The price of right now 16:19 Every counter Sources Modeling the bid/ask spread: measuring the inventory-holding premium — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304405X03001697 The effect of decimalization on the components of the bid-ask spread — https://mason.wm.edu/documents/faculty/effect-of-decimalization.pdf Dealing with the inventory risk — https://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.3115 SEC: NYSE DMM rule filing — https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nyse/2008/34-59112.pdf SEC 2023 DMM program enhancements — https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nyse/2023/34-98869.pdf Chicago Fed: Decimalization and market liquidity — https://www.chicagofed.org/~/media/publications/economic-perspectives/2003/4qeppart1-pdf.pdf Decimal trading in the U.S. stock markets — https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-0-387-26336-6_42 Congress.gov: PFOF and Broker-Dealer Regulation — https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12594 Congress.gov: SEC proposes PFOF reforms — https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12332 Citadel Securities paid $943m for order flow in nine months — https://www.globaltrading.net/citadel-securities-paid-us943m-for-retail-us-equity-options-order-flow-in-nine-months/ SEC: Findings regarding the market events of May 6, 2010 — https://www.sec.gov/files/marketevents-report.pdf SEC press release 2010-216 — https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-216.htm

  2. Aug 7

    A, B, C, D: Why This Bra Doesn't Fit Me

    In 1913 a nineteen-year-old sewed two handkerchiefs to a length of pink ribbon, patented it, and sold the patent for fifteen hundred dollars. A century later, studies find that most people are wearing the wrong size. This is the story of a genuinely hard load-bearing problem, and of the four letters that were never a measurement of anything. Chapters 00:00 Two handkerchiefs 01:23 The question 02:25 No muscle in there 04:57 A different problem 07:00 Four letters 09:32 Essential equipment 11:38 The wrong size 13:41 Never a measurement 15:12 Everything that touches a body

  • 2 Episodes

About

A story-driven explainer about whatever I'm currently curious about — the history of an object, how a market works, a corner of physics, a question about probability, a cultural phenomenon. Each episode takes one thing apart and shows you the mechanism underneath: what makes the problem hard, who actually solved it, what it cost, and the part that still doesn't quite fit. No lecture, no listicle, no fake enthusiasm. Episode one: a genuinely hard load-bearing problem, two handkerchiefs, and a sizing system that was never a measurement of anything.

Information

  • Creator
    Hesperus Labs
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Hesperus Labs
  • Show Website
    Curiosities