Sex, Bombs and Burgers: How war, porn and fast food created technology as we know it

(Paperback)

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War. Fast Food. Pornography. Pervasive in our culture, these three obsessions may seem to represent the worst qualities of humankind. But what have our lust, greed and rage driven us to achieve Peter Nowak argues that most of the major technological advances of the last sixty years have stemmed from the trio of billion-dollar industries that cater to our basest impulses. From cling film to aerosols, digital cameras to cold medicine and GM foods to Google, many of the gadgets and conveniences we enjoy today can be traced back to either the porn, military or fast food industry. Nowak reveals such unexpected links as: how the inventors of toys like Barbie and the Slinky perfected their creations with military-tech know-how; why 'one giant leap for mankind' brought us better hospital meals and stricter food quality control guidelines; how innovations in the adult-film industry will help us build better robotic limbs. Sex, Bombs and Burgers is a pacy history of the potentially dry world of technology. It is also a chronicle of popular culture, chock-full of surprising 'fancy that' moments. From cars to high-definition televisions, from website logins to microwave popcorn and slinkies, it reveals how our everyday lives have been shaped - for the most part indirectly - by war, porn and fast food.

Author Bio

Peter Nowak writes about technology for various media outlets around the world and is currently the senior science and technology reporter for CBC News Online. His writing has appeared in many of the world's top newspapers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The South China Morning Post and The Boston Globe. He has also interviewed technology giants including Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson and the inventor of the Internet, Vinton Cerf. Nowak has worked in New Zealand and still has strong professional ties there. In 2006 the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand named him the technology journalist of the year. According to Tim Murphy, editor in chief, of The New Zealand Herald, 'Peter Nowak is a journalist's journalist - quick, sceptical, brave, exacting and hungry for answers.'