WHERE DO CUPHOLDERS COME FROM?
One of the most noticeable differences between the 1986 Civic I traded in in April and the 2003 Civic that replaced it is that my new car has holders for my Diet Cokes--no more squeezing cans between the driver's seat and the door, which was a passable substitute except it didn't work for 20-ounce bottles. Writing on Slate, Henry Petroski, whom TFAIE readers will know for his "form follows failure" formulation, looks at the evolution of cupholders. I remember those little dents in the glove compartment lid from my parents' 1961 Ford Falcon, and the old days when McDonald's not only didn't have wi-fi, it didn't even have seats.