If you had to say the word telephone in sign language, you’d probably do the thumb and pinky to the head. In the past, though, it was one fist to the ear, one fist to the mouth — just like the old fashioned candlestick phone! The current sign...
Why do we make a hand-crank motion when asking someone to roll down their window? After all, in most new cars, that’s done with the press of a button. An outmoded gesture like this is similar to a skeuomorph, a design element that still used...
Here’s another fun skeuomorph: Martha’s father bought an exercise bike for the den, but the pedals have reflectors on them. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Another Skeuomorph” Grant, I have another skew-o...
What do you call it when you roll past a stop sign without coming to a complete stop? A California stop, a Michigan stop — or something else? And if someone calls you a voracious reader, would you be flattered or insulted? Also, Puddin’ Tame, the...
Skeuomorphs are aesthetic elements of design that no longer correlate with their original function. Computer software is full of skeuomorphs. For example, the save button that we’re all used to is a picture of a floppy disk. But then, who uses...