Things Companies

The Banana in Your Fruit Bowl Is a Genetic Clone. Its Predecessor Was Wiped Out in 1965. Its Replacement Is Dying Now.

Jul 30, 2026

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10 min read

The Banana in Your Fruit Bowl Is a Genetic Clone. Its Predecessor Was Wiped Out in 1965. Its Replacement Is Dying Now.

How a Victorian duke's greenhouse curio became the world's most-eaten fruit — and why the fungus killing it now killed its predecessor in 1965.

René Lauritsen

Things Companies

The Recycling Symbol Is a Lie. They Knew in 1973.

Jul 16, 2026

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6 min read

The Recycling Symbol Is a Lie. They Knew in 1973.

Those three chasing arrows on your yoghurt pot don't mean it can be recycled. They never did. The plastics industry stamped them there knowing full well the stuff was heading for landfill — because a public that believes recycling works is a public that stops asking questions. Fifty years later, a US state is suing them for it.

René Lauritsen

Things Companies

Diamonds Aren't Rare. An Ad Agency Made You Think They Were.

Jul 14, 2026

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7 min read

Diamonds Aren't Rare. An Ad Agency Made You Think They Were.

The engagement ring. The two-months'-salary rule. The word "forever" that quietly ensured you'd never sell the thing back. All of it was invented — deliberately, on paper, by a mining cartel and a Philadelphia advertising agency. And now, in 2026, the most brilliant illusion in commercial history is finally cracking.

René Lauritsen