Ten years after the Boston Tea Party, tea was still far…

By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…

— Tom Standage

“... civilization—a word that simply means "living in cities..." Excerpt From: Standage, Tom. “A History of the World In 6 Glasses.”

— Tom Standage

“A billion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles changed music. A…

— Tom Standage

“Stronger! stronger! grow they all, Who for Coca-Cola call. Brighter! brighter! thinkers think, When they Coca-Cola drink. —Coca-Cola advertising slogan, 1896”

— Tom Standage

“But an oft-heard complaint, as companies spread their tentacles around the world and compete on a global playing field, is that globalization is merely…

— Tom Standage

“...people enjoy being able to articulate their interests and define themselves by selectively compiling and resharing content created by others”

— Tom Standage

“Coffeehouses were centers of self-education, literary and philosophical speculation, commercial innovation, and, in some cases, political fermentation. But above all they were clearinghouses for…

— Tom Standage

“The inclusion of lemon or lime juice in grog, made compulsory in 1795, therefore reduced the incidence of scurvy dramatically. And since beer contains…

— Tom Standage

“such a social-media environment; it is merely the most recent and most efficient way that humans have found to scratch a prehistoric itch. The…

— Tom Standage

“John Adams, by then one of the country's founding fathers, wrote to a friend: "I know not why we should blush to confess that…

— Tom Standage

“This original version of Coca-Cola contained a small amount of coca extract and therefore a trace of cocaine. (It was eliminated early in the…

— Tom Standage

“An enormous semiofficial drug-smuggling operation was established in order to improve Britain's unfavorable balance of payments with China—the direct result of the British love…

— Tom Standage

The Arabs understandably did everything they could to protect their monopoly. Coffee beans were treated before being shipped to ensure they were sterile and…

— Tom Standage

“Illness and death are not the only consequences of the lack of access to water; it also hinders education and economic development. Widespread illness…

— Tom Standage

“According to an account in Anecdotes of the Telegraph, when his request was questioned, the man ran off, "grinning a horrible, ghastly smile".”

— Tom Standage