Why the Fork: Everyday design for curious minds – Details, episodes & analysis
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Do you ever find yourself staring at a tin opener, washing machine or backpack and thinking "how did this end up like this?", "Who decided this was the best design" or even "How on earth did this come to be?!"
Why the Fork is dedicated to looking at the hidden stories of the mundane objects in your home, that have an illustrious and fascinating past.
Join Creative Innovator and inventor of consumer goods, Ben Diamant, as he explores the forgotten history of objects you probably use everyday, without even a second thought.
Everything in your home has been designed by someone or a group of people over a number of years, but on the whole the people and the stories behind them go untold.
Ben also talks to Phil Staunton, a Product Innovation Strategist and Founder of D2M Product Design on each episode. Together they explore the future of these products and where they might end up in years to come.
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Apple Podcasts
🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
04/08/2025#96🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
03/08/2025#81🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
02/08/2025#65🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
01/08/2025#50🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
31/07/2025#39🇨🇦 Canada - history
30/07/2025#96🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
30/07/2025#35🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
29/07/2025#34🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
28/07/2025#64🇬🇧 Great Britain - history
27/07/2025#65
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Shared links between episodes and podcasts
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See all- https://www.gingerwizard.co.uk/
38 shares
- https://www.design2market.co.uk/
9 shares
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See allScore global : 58%
Publication history
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Why the tin opener? Napoleon's delicious problem
Season 1 · Episode 1
mercredi 16 juillet 2025 • Duration 43:32
Welcome to Why the Fork - a fortnightly journey into the everyday objects that you probably ignore on a daily basis.
For our first episode, we're taking a look at why the tin opener is designed like it is.
Creative Innovator and inventor of consumer goods, Ben Diamant, discovers:
- The reason why the tin opener came along hundreds of years after the tin can itself.
- Why Napoleon was instrumental in why we have tin cans today
- The need for the tin opener was driven by the masses
- Ring pulls won't confine the tin opener to history
- If laser tin openers will ever be a thing!
Ever wondered if you're even using it in the right way? Does it cut on the side or on the top?! We have the actual answer in this episode!
Ben also talks to product design expert Phil Staunton, founder of D2M, about how the tin opener has developed and if there's room for improvement.
He's also joined by Robert Van Varick, Chief Design Officer at Michael Graves Design, to chat about the future of the can opener. Will we see a laser tin opener in our kitchens?!
Make sure you subscribe and follow Why the Fork, as we have some fascinating episodes coming up; The washing machine, hair straightener and the toothbrush to name a few!
FOLLOW THE SHOW: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/why-the-fork-podcast/posts/?feedView=all
LINKS
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendiamant/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/philstaunton/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rvanvarick/
https://www.design2market.co.uk/
Podcast production by: https://www.gingerwizard.co.uk/
Harpsichord music courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lRRC0xeSxA&t=11s
jTnkJxdssWz5APSsrRsm
Trailer
Season 1
mardi 15 juillet 2025 • Duration 01:27
Join us on a fascinating journey into the stories of everyday items.
On Why the Fork, Inventor Ben Diamant looks at the hidden stories of the mundane objects in your home, that have an illustrious and fascinating past.
Everything in your home has been designed by someone or a group of people over a number of years, but on the whole the people and the stories behind them go untold.
Hit subscribe and follow now so you don't miss out on Episode One when it launches - The tin opener!
Why the Hair Straightener? Rachel the hairy trend setter
Season 1 · Episode 2
mercredi 30 juillet 2025 • Duration 46:06
Our hair, and how it looks, plays a huge part in our identity.
From beehives to bobs and from quiffs to comb-overs, your hair-do says a lot about who you are.
And the hair straightener has played a bigger role in that than you may think, for longer than you might have realised.
Long before GHD was a thing, people were getting rid of their curls to fit in, and conform to social standards and norms - but those designs were far from what we use today.
As Creative Innovator and inventor of consumer goods, Ben Diamant, finds out, the hair straightener's story includes racism, phantom inventors, burning hair and (possibly most importantly) Rachel from Friends.
Ben talks to product design expert Phil Staunton, founder of D2M, about how he used the hair straightener design to create something completely different, and how you take new products to market.
They also speak to an expert in hair straightener design - Sam Fordlay from Original Catapult Developments.
LINKS
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendiamant/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/philstaunton/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/s%CE%B1m-fordlay-26024458/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.instagram.com/original_catapult_developments/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/company/original-catapult-developments/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.design2market.co.uk/
Podcast production by: https://www.gingerwizard.co.uk/
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