Ikea’s history, philosophy, and opaque ownership structure are but a few of the topics covered in The Guardian’s two detailed articles on the flatpack furniture empire. Both throwaway trivia and critical facts are revealed. You may think that Ikea makes money on sheer volume alone, but 17%-18% of an item price is pure profit. The practically forced walkthrough of the entire Ikea showroom increases the chance for impulse purchases, particularly of those items that just seem too cheap to pass up even though you never imagined you would need one. I stare at our many Billy shelves and wonder how many books in the 31 Ikea countries are stored in this best seller. It all began in the farming town of Älmhult, Sweden.
The U.S. now boasts three museums with retired Concorde aircraft. In addition to the already landed supersonics at the National Air and Space Museum and the Seattle Museum of Flight, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in Manhattan has acquired British Airways’ Alpha Delta, holder of the trans-Atlantic commercial speed record between Heathrow and JFK.
The Lizzie Borden house in Fall River, MA has new owners. It’s currently a bed and breakfast in addition, of course, to being a notorious tourist attraction. The new management is exploring the possibility of opening up a Starbucks at the rear of the house. Lizzie Borden historians aren’t expressing much enthusiasm for the plan. The curator of the Fall River Historical Society notes that the city does lack a Starbucks.
A cartoonish moose against a mountain range is the winning design for the 2004 Canada Day Coin. Designed by an eleven-year old the coin will be given to new citizens sworn in next week during Celebrate Canada Week. (via snarkout)
On a moose farm in Sweden they’ve been milking the cows and making moose cheese. It’s hard not to say the enterprise is a success when they’re able to sell the results for $500 a pound. The “Mouse House” farmers make about 660 pounds of cheese a year.
New York Magazine has reviewed Thomas Keller’s Per Se with the expected exhalting phrases, however it is capped off with the statement “I couldn’t help wondering whether it would have tasted even better sitting a world away, in sunny Yountville, on a bright California afternoon.”
Whole Foods is opening up in Bellevue, WA next week. We’ve been periodically, but not often, driving over and up to the one in Seattle, since I enjoy the magnificent browsing experience at Whole Foods (but not the prices). Having a store close by will be convenient, and they’ve really done this one up. 27 cash registers (though no word on how many cashiers) and features I haven’t seen at Whole Foods before: a gelato bar, crepe counter, 4-foot-long chocolate case (?!!). I’ll just be happy with a mint chocolate cookie — oh but what if they have mint chocolate gelato?
Micro-sundae anyone? This tiny ice cream treat at Toscanini’s (the place to get flavorful ice cream in Cambridge, MA) was invented by MIT engineering graduate student Kevin Brown. After earning ice cream for life from Tosci’s by installing a sound system, Brown wisely limited his intake by consuming small portions. It took over five years for his mini creation to reach the menu, and only after Brown convinced owner Gus Rancatore that Toscanini’s yummy hot fudge sauce deserved a wider audience. Rancantore decided that kids would be well-served with a tinier sundae. Of course it turns out that adults are the big consumers of this cute cup of ice cream, topping, whipped cream, nuts, and sprinkles. Brown is now president of a sound engineering firm.
New York Times reporter Daniel J. Wakin started playing the clarinet at age 11. He recently became the third nonprofessional musician to play with the New York Philharmonic, in a nice little PR coup that fulfilled a personal dream. Wakin’s detailed write-up of his experience preparing and playing for a Philharmonic performance is a wonderful read for anyone who wants an inkling of what it’s like to play with the greats. With careful coaching from a veteran principal clarinetist, who advises him not to faint, Wakin admirably survives a professional symphony performance at Avery Fisher Hall under the baton of Lorin Maazel.
Dr. David Huffman (of the Huffman Codes, for all you C.S. geeks) pursued a fascinating sideline in computational origami. His daughter showed his amazing curved paper structures to the New York Times. The folded forms look impossible to create in the typically straight-edge world of traditional origami. Huffman, who died in 1999, published only one paper on his folding work, though he pursued it from the 1970s and studied the underlying mathematical models. OrigamiUSA is holding a convention in New York City this weekend.