FT MAGAZINE
Resources
Defining Moment
The spray paint can is invented
In 1949, Edward Seymour created the greatest weapon in every graffitist’s arsenal
Principal content
Defining Moment: Watneys overturns the barrel, 1936
The London brewery, which had been working on a prototype intended for troops in India, introduces the new keg beer to the less exotic surroundings of leafy Surrey
Defining Moment: The opening night of ‘Ubu Roi’ heralds the avant-garde, 1896
The first performance of Alfred Jarry’s play dispensed with conventions of scenery and narrative and mixed high art with low comedy
Defining Moment: Germany finally gets its reunification novel, 2001
Pop musician Sven Regener’s ‘Herr Lehmann’ captured the mood of his generation: young West Germans who were bewildered by the collapse of the Berlin Wall
Defining Moment: Bode Miller democratises downhill skiing, March 1996
Long, skinny planks dominated the slopes until this 18-year-old skier showed up for a national competition in the US on a ‘shaped’ ski and won three of the four events
Defining Moment: Edwin Drake strikes oil – and launches the petroleum industry, 1859
A Connecticut railroad conductor convinced a company to apply the methods of drilling for salt to oil acquisition, making him the first oil driller in the world
Defining Moment: The British invent the modern roundabout, 1966
Early ‘traffic circles’ were fairly anarchic until their full potential was unleashed with a law stating that vehicles approaching junctions had to give way
Defining Moment: Post Office engineer Tommy Flowers creates a landmark in computing, January 1944
Colossus employed binary logic for large calculations and provided crucial information in the run-up to the Allied invasion of Europe
Defining Moment: Robin Day transforms the political interview, February 23, 1958
Bringing a key part of the political process out of the Victorian era, the newscaster’s line of questioning caused a stir and caught the less deferential mood of the times
Defining Moment: A housewife’s request starts the jeans bonanza, December 1870
Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss took up the challenge of making the strongest possible pair of trousers, sewing them from cotton duck and adding copper rivets
Defining Moment: Adshel starts the bus shelter revolution, 1969
Two billboard companies joined to form a new group that would supply bus shelters to local authorities for free, in return for the right to display advertising on them
