NPR's science reporter, Robert Krulwich, has made a bet with WIRED Magazine's founding editor, Kevin Kelly. Their wager is about whether there are any inventions in human history that aren't still produced today. Robert believes that this must of course be true, and he said that he would easily be able to find a tool or invention that is no longer being made. Kelly says no. He hasn't been able to find any technology that is not currently produced by someone in the world.
So far, Robert hasn't been able to find anything ranging from paleolithic hammers to agricultural tools from the 1895 Montgomery Ward catalogue that isn't still made today. (Modern hobbyists interested in making stone arrowheads are the market for brand-new paleolithic hammers). Robert is calling on all of us for help in finding some tool that has become extinct.
If you can help, post your ideas here, and Robert will post the most promising candidates in his blog.
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