Acknowledgments
Introduction
The
Joy of Oops!
Lesson #1
Read the Fine Print
The Eroto-Utopians of
Upstate
John Humphrey Noyes’ sexually adventurous Perfectionist
commune was one of the most successful utopian religious groups in
19th-century
Lesson
#2
Accentuate the Positive
How Thomas Edison Invented Trash Talk
Why would one of
Lesson #3
Beware Solutions
that Create New Problems
The Global Underarm Deodorant Disaster
Thomas
Midgley Jr. was among
Lesson #4
Bad Results Trump Good Intentions
Kudzu: A Most Tangled Tale
What began as a well-intentioned effort
to stop soil erosion in the American South became a dramatic example
of what can happen when you mess with Mother Nature.
Lesson
#5
Ignore the Past at Your Peril
The Preposterous Collapse of ‘Galloping
Gertie’
The completed
Lesson #6
Persistence Can Outweigh Talent
The Screeching Diva
With
a voice that was more canine than coloratura, Florence Foster Jenkins
may have been the worst operatic singer of all time. But the do-it-yourself
diva was able to charm audiences with unabashed, joyful ineptitude.
Lesson
#7
Choose the Right Partner
The Kaiser-Hughes Flying Boat
If you’re crazy
enough to take on an incredibly difficult project with an unrealistically
short deadline, don’t ask an even crazier person to help you get it
done.
Lesson #8
Pandering Will Get You Nowhere
The Dodge La Femme
In
the 1950s, Dodge saw a pink car with a matching umbrella and lipstick
case as the way to a woman’s heart. But that was only the worst of
the automotive industry’s efforts to woo a misunderstood market segment.
Lesson #9
Beware of Unproven Technologies
The Lingering Reek of ‘Smell-O-Vision’
Sound
revolutionized motion pictures, but the tortured effort to bring smell
to the silver screen proved that some things are best left to the
imagination.
Lesson #10
Convenience Isn’t Always Enough
The Paper
Dress
In the mid 1960s, ordinary housewives and the fashion elite thrilled
to the notion of cheap, disposable garments. The fad lasted about
as long as the clothes themselves.
