Learn · TED

Talk11 min

How I built a toaster -- from scratch

Thomas Thwaites · TED

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About

It takes an entire civilization to build a toaster. Designer Thomas Thwaites found out the hard way, by attempting to build one from scratch: mining ore for steel, deriving plastic from oil ... it's frankly amazing he got as far as he got. A parable of our interconnected society, for designers and consumers alike.

The talk

  1. How I built a toaster -- from scratch 11 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TEDSalon London 2010
Speaker
Thomas Thwaites
Year
2010
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Art, architecture and design
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Tweens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed