Inspired by a home-made egg timer in an English pub, the lava lamp became a symbol of the fluidity of social mores in the 1960s. Like the bean bag and kinetic toys, it also represented a new humour ...

The law to phase out incandescent light bulbs was promoted as a simple, almost painless, change when Congress first passed it. By requiring that light bulbs use at least 25 percent less electricity, ...