Documents That Changed the World

Joe Janes
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A look at documents that have had a profound effect on the world. Telling the stories of these information objects, their genesis, contexts, impacts, and fates also tells the story of human society and its never ending evolution.

  1. 12 ago

    75. Canadian Plan for Invasion of U.S. (Defence Scheme No. 1), 1921

    You read that right, imagine phalanxes of Canadians pouring (insert maple syrup joke here) over the US border to pre-empt a potential American invasion and the colorful character who might have turned neighbors into invaders

  2. 28 jul

    74. Browser Cookies, 1994

    Mmmmm...cookies... Just be careful, these cookies can bite back. The story of the untold number of cookies lurking on your browsers, meant to make browsing easier and faster, which became a major threat to privacy on the Internet

  3. 3 jun

    71. HeLa (Henrietta Lacks) DNA, 1951

    The worst thing that ever happened to Henrietta Lacks - the cancer that killed her - is what has immortalized her, in a line of cellular tissue used in research, making her the savior of countless lives - even at the cost of her dignity

  4. 27 may

    70. Periodic Table of the Elements, 1869

    Einstein famously didn't say "God doesn't play dice with the universe". But what about cards? That periodic table you stared at in high school has a surprising origin story; once you hear it, you can't unsee it

  5. 3 mar

    69. Fermat's Last Theorem, c1637

    Let me just jot down this little note - a few words tossed off in the margin of a book, and 3 1/2 centuries of mathematicians banging their heads against walls, ensure, dogged determination to achieve an indisputable outcome, whatever the reason

  6. 11/08/2025

    68. Negro Motorist Green Book, 1936

    Road trip! Let's just pack up and go - but where should we go, stay, eat? Easy decisions for some, perilous for others, until a mailman lent his name to a little book that made the journey a whole lot safer, less humiliating and more enjoyable to generations of travelers setting out on the open road to a better future

  7. 28/07/2025

    67. Guinness Book of Records, 1955

    A compendium of fastests and highests and mosts in a book that nobody needs but millions have enjoyed - documenting the boundaries of human capability; just don't call it trivial, and please, stop eating the bicycles. Golden plover for the win! (or not) (researched by Brooks Scheibler)

  8. 06/07/2025

    66. First Motion Picture Camera Patent, 1888

    Edison invented the movie camera, right? Nope - and therein lies a Hollywood story that doesn't take place anywhere near Hollywood, with guest appearances by Greer Garson, Spencer Tracy, Jack the Ripper, and Louis Le Prince, the real inventor, and his real life mystery (researched/written by Ellianna Thayne)

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A look at documents that have had a profound effect on the world. Telling the stories of these information objects, their genesis, contexts, impacts, and fates also tells the story of human society and its never ending evolution.

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