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You probably have a chair like this. The one where you throw those clothes that aren’t quite laundry. They still have a few wears left. The more clothes you have like that, the more energy and water you are actually saving … so it’s probably a good thing to have them so you can avoid … Read more
People are stubborn. We see it in nearly every disaster movie where the flood or fire or aliens are headed straight for a town and there are people who still refuse to leave. They stare down the impending doom and assume everything will still work out. Sometimes, in the movies and in real life, it … Read more
When I was a kid and we would travel to India, all the taxis looked the same. The model that dominated back then, and for decades before and after was the Ambassador—alternately described as “virtually indestructible” and voted “the world’s best taxi.” Despite the fact that the factory making them operated from the 50s until closing in 2014, … Read more
The prevailing wisdom about human behaviors and beliefs today is that facts are not persuasive in changing minds or shifting beliefs. Usually, it’s true. That’s one reason why there is so much focus on becoming a better storyteller and why every category from politicians to breakfast cereal marketers primarily relies on stories to connect with … Read more
Sustainability-first brands like Patagonia have taken their commitment to reuse to the furthest extreme by creating an entire ecommerce experience dedicated to allowing their customers to sell used products to one another. When the Worn Wear platform came out in 2020, the brand was criticized for their crazy idea of inviting their customers to keep … Read more
Electric cars are quiet. Maybe too quiet. The problem, as some public health groups warn, is that electric cars dramatically increase the risk of accidents with pedestrians. The absence of sound creates danger, because we expect to be able to hear a car coming. Now that legislation spearheaded by groups advocating for the blind and visually … Read more
Early in the pandemic I decided to make a home studio and looked into installing sound panels. Unfortunately, they were generally expensive, bulky and needed professional installation. Researchers from MIT may have developed a solution for this and many other problems with a new noise cancelling silk fabric about the width of a human hair that uses … Read more
This summer, in their ample parking lots across several European cities, IKEA will be hosting weekend flea markets for people to come and sell their used household goods and other items they don’t need anymore. Donations from the day will be used to support vulnerable single-parent families. The effort is designed to underscore the brand’s … Read more
A tiny branch of the US Department of Energy focused on high-risk projects just awarded $5 million dollars to three startup ventures that are each independently “investigating whether seaweed can serve as a practical source of critical materials, such as platinum and rhodium, as well as rare earth elements, including neodymium, lanthanum, yttrium, and dysprosium.” … Read more
The skies were orange above Athens and that was just one of several climate and energy related stories this week that offered a glimpse into stories we will see more frequently in the coming years. The first example is a concerning story of a tiny Arizona town where a private company purchased land and water rights only … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - relesaed 10/01/2024.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
