When Ozzy Osborne Survived Crucifixion

Ozzy Osborne died a saint - but was once considered a surrogate of Satan, if not the anti-christ himself.

Aug 7

22

2

July 2025

Most Americans Opposed the Moon Landing

July 20th, 2025 marks the 56th anniversary of the moon landing.

Jul 20 • 

Louis Anslow

32

2

The Forgotten War on the Walkman

The Sony Walkman is now iconic of the 1980s, eliciting nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ of owning music, rather than renting it.

Jul 1 • 

Louis Anslow

35

2

June 2025

The War on Artificial Ice

Before artificial meat was attacked as ‘unnatural’ by incumbents, artificial ice was also.

Jun 13 • 

Louis Anslow

49

May 2025

Audio Version: Thinking Different is Never Popular (at First)

A podcast version of our most recent post using NotebookLM - we’ve vetted for mistakes/misquotes and errors.

May 26

Thinking Different is Never Popular (at First)

“Think Different” is Apple’s iconic motto, capturing the essence of what made it one of the world’s most beloved brands—often overlooked is how much…

May 6 • 

Louis Anslow

34

3

April 2025

Thomas Jefferson Hated Kids Reading Novels

Over two hundred years ago - in 1818 - Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter in which he communicated his distaste for ‘kids these days’ reading too many…

Apr 13 • 

Louis Anslow

20

The Saxophone Theory of Everything

The ‘Smartphone theory of everything’ - the notion smartphones can be wholly or partly blamed for many negative ailments of modern society is…

Apr 2 • 

Louis Anslow

5

The War on Internet Phone Calls

When long distance telephone companies tried to thwart online telephony

Apr 1 • 

Louis Anslow

33

1

The War on Internet Phone Calls (Audio)

An audio podcast version of our latest newsletter for paid subscribers about the war on internet telephone calls.

Apr 1 • 

Pessimists Archive

February 2025

The UK Invented Modern Encryption, then Kept it Secret

Apple and the UK government are now in a pitched battle over encryption, which reminded us of a forgotten detail of encryption history…

Feb 22 • 

Louis Anslow

26

When Hollywood Union Members Embraced Artificial Music

In 1929, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) railed against the growing trend of recorded music in movie theaters instead of live musicians - a…

Feb 5 • 

Louis Anslow

30

1