How did bikes evolve? Where did the Netherlands fit in around 1900? And what role did Fongers of Groningen play?
Design!
You are surrounded by design all day. The sneakers you wear, the car you drive, the cutlery you eat with and the phone that keeps you in touch. Design begins with your own body: getting your hair cut, training your muscles, possibly decorating your skin. Design shows who you are, who you want to be and where you want to belong. And it is everyone’s property.
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Lingerie has been around for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until the 1920s that a standardised cup size system was invented that changed underwear forever
All body implants have the problem of being temporary. Why is that?
Bicycle paths have a major impact on cycling culture in the Netherlands and on what the Netherlands looks like. What is involved in designing a cycle path?
A proposal is often accompanied by a diamond engagement ring, but where does this tradition come from? And besides the emotional value, what is the real value of a diamond?
The Netherlands is known worldwide as a cycling country, but this didn't happen overnight in the Netherlands either. For a while it even seemed that the car would win at the expense of the bicycle.
Sex toys are immensely popular. Yet their use was not always so obvious.
The location symbol is a genuine cultural phenomenon, but since the rise of social media, it’s also been part of who we are (or would like to be) as a person. Which is why we’re often oblivious to the dangers that it embodies.
Living or staying in a bubble? That idea has fascinated people for centuries.
To some people, a bike is just a simple form of transport. To others, cycling is a way of life.
For many people, the ring has a symbolic meaning. To them it's much more than ‘portable wealth’.
Modern military helmets bear little resemblance to the old, gleaming models with their crests swaying in the breeze. How did they develop? And what specifications does the Dutch Ministry of Defence impose for combat helmets today?
Nowadays a knife and a fork are laid out neatly on either side of your plate. Go back a few centuries, though, and there was no fork to be seen. Knives and forks originated in their own ways, a development illustrated by archaeological finds.
I have over a hundred houseplants in my house. So I couldn’t do without a watering can – it’s part of my standard equipment as a plant lover and gardener.
Someone in sneakers is a familiar scene, but still somewhat remarkable. Less than half a century ago, it would have been unthinkable to walk around in the street like that wearing sports shoes.
Sebas van Aert is a journalist and podcaster. He studied philosophy and played in NAC Breda’s youth football team. For the Third Floor, he wrote the article below. As soon as the whistle blows and the ball starts to move, the noise of the outside world fades away. Thoughts sink into the...
Hair removal, whether partial or full, goes back to time immemorial. But what impact has it had on us as human beings?
One moment a broad waist is fashionable, the next moment everyone wants a narrow waist. Sometimes underwear can help achieve that ideal shape.
'As long as your hair is right' sang the Dutch band Vulcano in 1983. A history of hairstyle.
Modern advertising presents us with ideas about gender and shaving that are mostly western and binary.
Today’s sports shoes are designed to keep improving your performance, which goes hand in hand with technical innovations and science.
Although your skull provides natural protection for your brain, the cranium cannot withstand a hard impact caused by an accident or a bullet.
As we travel, we are cut off from the world around us and often move so fast that we cannot even see who is driving next to us.
A dot, an arrow or a pin on a map on your smartphone: these are what you use nowadays to indicate where your body is located. But does anyone still remember the phone box?
Design crosses the threshold of our bodies more often than you might think.
In other countries, the bike tended to be associated after the turn of the century with the working class. Queen Wilhelmina’s penchant for cycling meant that in the Netherlands, by contrast, bikes continued to be used by all levels of society. They have been seen as ‘typically Dutch’ ever...
Rings are worn directly on the skin, but they are also visible to everyone. They make it easy to display your affinity with another person or a particular group.
For many of us, eating with a knife, fork and spoon is entirely natural.
We dig, plant, rake and water the garden, and then leave it to grow. The watering can has become a typical and familiar design in this regard.
The rules determine not only the game in general, but also how the player is permitted to move the ball around the pitch.
Curvy bottom and hips, wasp waist or gym-honed figure: the image of the ideal body has changed a lot over the centuries. Underwear helps people get as close as possible to that perfect image.
One of the most personal designs can be found right there on your head.