Mod Bytes are little bits of interesting trivia relating to modern design.

The Dish On Danish

Did you know that Dansk International Designs, the company that, more than any other, was responsible for the Scandinavian Modern style in the American home of the 50s, is not a Danish company?

American businessman Ted Nierenberg formed the company after viewing Jens Quistgaard's designs for a fork, spoon, and knife at a Copenhagen museum. Dansk's first product was this "Fjord" line of flatware. Quistgaard continues today as chief designer at Dansk. submitted by The ModHaus

The Wright Stuff

Did you know that Russel Wright actually had the given name Russell (with two L's)?

At one point he ordered letterheads and his name was misspelled with only one "L"- he thought it was distinctive so he kept it!

Spaceship Earth

Do you know who coined the term "Spaceship Earth"? - hint: he also is credited with inventing the Geodesic Dome.

That would be Buckminster Fuller, of course! "Bucky" Fuller didn't originate the idea of the Geodesic Dome (Walter Bauersfeld of the Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany is credited with doing so in 1922) but he did popularize the technology, received several patents for the idea, and expanded its use beyond what was originally envisioned. In fact, today it is projected that over 300,000 such domes exist around the World.

Memphis On My Mind

What does the '80s Italian design group Memphis, Bob Dylan and the Pharaohs of Egypt have to do with one another?

The name "Memphis" came about on the evening of December 11, 1980 when Michele DeLucchi, Barbara Radice, Marco Zanini, Aldo Cibic, Matteo Thun, and Martine Bedin gathered at the home of Ettore Sottsass to discuss a new collaborative effort. (George Sowden and Nathalie DuPasquier were missing that evening.) There was a Bob Dylan record on, "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again," and since nobody bothered to change the record, Bob Dylan went on howling "the Memphis Blues Again" until Sottsass said, "ok, let's call it Memphis." Everybody agreed it was a great name with a host of associations: Blues, Tennessee, rock n' roll, American suburbs; and then Egypt, the Pharaohs' capital, the holy city of the god Ptah.

Eero My Hero

Do you know what the relationship is between the shape of Eero Aarnio's famous Ball Chair and that of his ever popular Pastil Chair?

Aarnio realized that in shipping so many empty Ball Chairs overseas he was missing a grand opportunity. What if he could design a smaller chair that would fit snugly inside the Ball chair? He could send both objects within the same amount of space, and by being contained within the larger, already cushioned Ball chair this new chair would also be protected during shipment. Measurements were made of the Ball Chair opening and the design of the Pastil Chair had begun. related link: Eero Aarnio Website

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