It’s been such fun working on the radio series and book Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy – but one of the frustrations was all the fascinating ideas, inventions and stories that I couldn’t squeeze into the book.
I get another bite of the cherry now: the BBC is inviting suggestions for a special episode: one more thing that shaped the economic forces that surround us and changed the way we live, spend or work. Full details here, but the gist is: please send your suggestions to 51things@bbc.com (or the BBC World Service Twitter or Facebook accounts) by noon GMT on Friday 8 September. (Please don’t tweet at me directly – I will almost certainly miss your suggestion, which would be a shame.)
Please search your brains for the surprising and the overlooked. The original list of 50 didn’t include the motor car or the computer, so of course we could do that – but I suspect there’s a more intriguing story to tell.
There are more details about the book here – it’s out now in the UK and next week in the US (with the title Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy). Do feel free to order copies for all your friends…