Three M&Ms

Van Halen's Brown M&Ms

Doug Mack | Snack Stack | 3rd July 2023

A rider in Van Halen's touring contracts, demanding dishes of M&Ms with all brown M&Ms removed, was soon being studied at business schools: The rider was seen as a "canary" that signalled whether a venue had read and respected the 53-page contract. Smart, but not true. The rider was a display of power. It showed that Van Halen could demand anything, and that venues must acquiesce (2,700 words)

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Three Philosophies Of Carmaking

Stewart Brand | Books In Progress | 30th June 2023

An American car-buyer in 1908 might have noticed three new models: The Detroit Electric, with an 80-mile range; the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which cost a fortune but would last for ever; and the Ford Model T, which was cheap but would need occasional fixing. Millions chose the Ford, then found they enjoyed fixing it. "They discovered that the power to maintain is the power to improve" (2,700 words)