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From YouTube: 99% Invisible - GitHub Universe 2016
Description
99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With over 120 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes.
Join host Roman Mars as he presents stories from 99pi on the Universe stage.
About GitHub Universe:
GitHub Universe is a two-day conference dedicated to the creativity and curiosity of the largest software community in the world. Sessions cover topics from team culture to open source software across industries and technologies.
For more information on GitHub Universe, check the website:
https://githubuniverse.com
A
A
You
Street
escalator
September,
27,
2011
I,
like
that
sound
that's
an
escalator
at
a
DC
metro.
Stop
the
escalator
has
a
plastic
element
on
the
side
of
each
metal
step.
So
it
stops
it
from
rubbing
against
the
metal,
siding
and
then
there's
a
lubricant
to
keep
it
all
running
smoothly.
But
when
it
rains
or
snows
the
lubrication
wears
off-
and
it
sounds
like
this
or
it
sounds
like
this.
A
A
B
A
People
find
the
screeching
and
squawking
of
broken
escalators
really
quite
annoying,
but
once
you
accept
that
it
is
not
going
to
change
and
trust
me
in
the
DC
metro
system,
it
is
never
going
to
change.
You
can
find
pleasure
in
the
accidental
music
of
imperfect
escalators,
someone
even
posted
a
homemade
plaque
that
both
makes
fun
of
and
exalts,
and
the
ridiculous
moaning
at
the
Farragut
North
escalator.
It
reads.
C
A
You're
gonna
mess
up
my
time
and
if
you
keep
clapping
99%
invisible
is
a
radio
show
and
podcast
about
architecture
and
design.
Two
disciplines
from
which
the
visuals
tend
to
be
very,
very
important
but
being
constrained
solely
to
audio,
reveal
something
critical
about
how
we
can
communicate
the
importance
of
design
in
everyday
life.
People
have
different
opinions
about
what
is
beautiful.
A
What
is
ugly,
what
is
tacky
and
so
on,
but
stories
are
universal,
at
least
if
you
tell
them
right
so
I
used
to
work
at
a
radio
station
called
WBEZ
in
Chicago
and
every
day,
I
walk
past
this
building.
This
is
an
office
building
and
the
Montgomery
Ward
complex.
It
was
designed
by
Minoru
Yamasaki.
He
also
did
the
World
Trade
Center
towers
and
the
pruitt-igoe
housing,
complex
and
I
have
to
admit
I.
A
Rarely
looked
up
at
this
building,
I
passed
it
nearly
every
single
day
and
for
the
reason
I
ignored
it
is
that
Chicago
is
so
architecture.
Rich
is
kind
of
hard
to
stand
out
as
the
skyscraper
in
Chicago,
but
even
when
it
got
new
blue
green
to
dead
glass
in
2006
I,
just
never
even
bothered
to
crane.
My
neck
to
look
at
it,
but
then
someone
told
me
why
this
building
has
these
thick
concrete
corner
supports
on
the
building?
A
So
it's
now
been
converted
into
condos.
It's
called
the
Montgomery
and
I
bet.
The
developers
hate
those
thick
concrete
comps
with
every
fiber
of
their
being,
and
wishing
that
there
was
a
corn,
a
corner
condo
to
sell
that
they
can't
possibly
sell.
But
that
is
the
reason
why
I
love
this
building
and
so
therefore
I
win.
A
A
But
if
you
ask
me
one
of
my
one
of
my
favorite
building
is
this
dumb
building
pops
into
my
head
and
it's
this
thing
that
I've
never
even
I'd,
rarely
bothered
to
look
at
when
I
passed
it
nearly
every
day,
but
I've
learned
to
appreciate
its
aesthetics
more
and
more
as
I
told
that
story
again
and
again,
and
that's
why
I
contend
that
story
is
the
universal
language
of
design,
even
more
than
aesthetics
know,
don't
get
me
wrong.
I
love
pretty
things,
but
prejudiced
and
biased
and
ignorance.
A
They
just
get
in
the
way
of
me
loving,
a
brilliant
structure
with
a
great
story
to
tell
sometimes
the
story
can
make
things
more
ugly
and
not
to
get
all
dark
on
you.
But
that
is
the
main
story.
I'm
gonna
tell
you
today,
it's
gonna
be
a
good
kind
of
dark.
It's
gonna
be
like
a
dark
night
returns
kind
of
dark,
not
not
a
bad
kind
of
dark
like
Batman,
vs,
Superman
kind
of
dark,
so
but
brace
yourself
for
that.
But
here's
the
deal,
here's!
A
A
A
A
Around
the
corner
from
our
office
in
beautiful,
downtown
Oakland
California
is
de
Lauer's
newsstand.
It
has
been
there
since
1907
for
people
who
live
in
work
downtown.
It
is
central
to
our
existence.
Everyone
goes
there
to
buy
drinks,
lottery
tickets,
little
packs
of
fruit,
flavored
cigarettes
and
occasionally
even
a
newspaper.
B
A
E
F
A
F
A
F
The
Austrian
government,
who
kind
of
annexed
the
country
at
that
time,
decided
to
implement
street
lighting
and
that
was
very
unpleasant
to
the
locals,
and
the
locals
would
destroy
the
light.
Every
night
and
government
would
reinstall
it
every
morning,
and
so
the
idea
that
light
is
something
unpleasant
for
free
expression
in
public
space
is
something
that
we
completely
forgot.
We've.
A
Since
become
so
habituated
to
public
lighting
that
our
primary
experience
with
street
lights
is
that
they
deter
criminal
activity
and
make
us
feel
safe
unless
you're
someone
who
laments
the
lack
of
stars
in
the
night
sky
or
have
an
apartment
window
right
next
to
a
screamingly
right
street
light
bulb.
You
might
never
view
street
lights
as
unpleasant
at
all,
which
is
one
of
the
reasons
why
the
unpleasant
design
project
wants
to
point
it
out.
So
that
gets
recognized
as
being
part
of
this
overall
design
scheme
that
can
take
on
much
uglier
manifestations.
A
A
G
F
A
F
D
A
A
We're
saying
that
these
spikes
are
not
just
in
England,
we
have
them
in
the
u.s.
too,
outside
of
the
office
in
downtown
Oakland
California,
there's
a
window
ledge
that
you
naturally
want
to
sit
on
and
sure
enough.
There's
these
black
metal
doorknob,
looking
things
that
keep
you
from
resting
there
and
one
things
that
makes
these
spikes
or
similar
features.
So
frustrating
is
that
they're
just
there
they're
not
moving,
there's
no
arguing
with
them.
A
F
Know
if
you
have
a
policeman
who
prohibits
people
from
sleeping
in
a
park,
I
think
there
is
some
possible
negotiation
and
I
think
that's
good.
That's
what
society
is
about
the
ongoing
negotiation
and
ongoing
change,
but
when
we
start
using
things
that
are
immutable
and
unchangeable
like
metal
spikes,
there
is
nothing
that
is
going
to
change
until
they
rust
I
think
that's
the
most
important
criteria
for
calling
something
unpleasant
design.
It
is
something
that
you
cannot
negotiate
with.
F
A
Have
all
probably
tried
and
failed
to
negotiate
with
one
of
the
most
common
and
aggravating
forms
of
unpleasant
design,
public
seating,
whether
it's
in
a
park
or
at
a
bus
stop
or
in
an
airport?
There
are
countless
ways
that
designers
have
made
it,
so
you
cannot
get
comfortable
and
most
especially,
cannot
lie
down
a.
F
Classic
is
the
bench
with
arm
rests
in
between
which,
of
course,
let
you
arrest
your
arm
on
on
the
armrest,
but
at
the
same
time
they
restrict
any
other
kind
of
use,
then
sitting
upright.
The
only
way
this
bench
can
be
used
is
by
three
people
sitting
next
to
each
other
and
not
looking
at
each
other,
which
is
not
the
only
thing
you
can
do
it
on
a
bench,
especially
it's
not
the
only
normal
and
legal
thing
you
can
do
on
a
bench.
Some.
A
And
it's
not
just
dividers
and
armrests
in
the
unpleasant
design
book.
They
point
out
benches
that
are
mounted
so
high
that
your
feet
can't
reach
the
ground
and
therefore
they're
uncomfortable
after
a
short
period
and
they
document
an
increased
prevalence
of
leaning
supports
at
bus
stops.
So
you
can
rest
them
against
them
standing,
but
they
do
not
accommodate
sitting
or
sleeping,
but
the
object
that
Solana
considers
the
masterpiece
of
unpleasant
design
is
the
Camden
bench
basically.
F
A
Camden
bench
so
named
because
it
was
commissioned
by
the
Camden
London
Borough
Council
is
a
strange
angular
sculpted
solid
lump
of
concrete
with
rounded
edges
and
slopes
and
unexpected
places,
a
critic
on
medium
called
Frank
Swain
called
it.
The
perfect
anti
object,
it's
anti
sleeping
because
the
shape
makes
it
uncomfortable
to
sleep
on
its
anti
drug-dealing,
because
there
are
no
slots
or
crevices
in
which
to
hide
trucks.
Its
anti-theft,
because
the
recesses
near
the
ground
allow
people
to
tuck
their
bags
behind
their
feet
and
away
from
would-be
criminals.
A
It's
anti
skateboard,
because
the
edges
and
slope
make
it
hard
to
grind
on.
It
is
anti
litter
because
there
are
no
surfaces
or
crevices
for
litter
to
accrue
its
anti
graffiti,
because
there's
a
special
coating
that
repels
paint
and
I
think
most
of
those
goals
are
completely
Noble,
except
for
the
sleeping
and
skateboarding
I.
Don't
really
want
those
activities
happening
in
the
public
spaces
I
go
to
either,
but
sonna
finds
this
litany
of
anti
measures
demoralizing.
It.
F
F
After
we
have
published
the
book,
we
had
a
confirmation
of
this.
We
didn't
even
notice,
but
on
the
balcony
doors
we
actually
had
anti
pigeon
spikes
and
then,
due
to
somebody
hanging
up
on
the
balcony,
who
was
I,
don't
know
a
bit
clumsy
and
they
destroyed
these
spikes
on
one
side
and
we
didn't
even
notice
that
suddenly,
the
balcony
was
filled
with
pigeon
pidgins.
F
A
Is
always
an
aspect
of
coercion
in
design
design
is
used
to
get
you
to
buy
things
or
to
use
your
phone
in
a
certain
way,
sometimes
without
you
even
being
aware
of
it,
and
these
pieces
of
hostel
architecture
are
no
different.
Of
course,
there
are
ways
for
designers
to
fight
back
to
the
soft
walks.
Initiative
has
created
a
guerrilla
furniture
that
can
be
attached
to
existing
Street
infrastructure.
The
arche
suits
project
by
Sarah
Ross
involves
special
outfits
that
allow
users
to
overcome
obstacles
like
bench
arm.
F
A
F
A
Now
you
are
the
one
in
this
room
is
an
observer
to
whether
you
think
a
certain
form
of
design
is
exclusionary,
but
serves
a
greater
good
or
just
hostile
and
offensive.
It's
important
to
be
aware
of
the
decisions
that
are
being
made
for
you,
because
most
likely
unpleasant
design
is
put
there
to
make
things
more
pleasant
for
someone
just
like
you.
A
Now,
probably
most
of
you
don't
design
benches
but
I
think
there's
a
lesson
and
unpleasant
design
for
every
designer
and
maker
of
anything.
Ask
yourself
when
you
make
something
who
are
you
excluding,
and
why
and
is
it
making
the
world
a
better
place?
And
if
you
know
the
answer
go
out
there
and
do
some
good
Thanks.