"Pot, protests, and Cher are back, so why not lava lamps? They were invented by Edward Craven Walker, a British accountant who made underwater nudist films on the side. Walker came up with the idea for the lamp in a pub, where he saw an experimental egg-timer contraption that entailed boiling a mixture of oil and water (when the oil blobs reach the surface, the egg is cooked). Mathos, the lighting company Walker founded in 1963 to manufacture his creation, still makes lava lamps."
"Among them: a slim column nearly ten feet high (8,500), a tower that looks like a dolphin about to take off into outer space (415), and a shiny copper-plated, candle-powered device that resembles a big pill capsule (50). Mathos doesn't ship to the U.S., and why go through the trouble of smuggling? Here in America we have groovy new ones that evoke elongated hourglasses and rockets (starting at $30)."
"Some letter openers are so appealing that it's a treat to open your jury-duty notice and junk mail. If you no longer receive mail, you can use the paper knives as peanut-butter spreaders. Here are a few that any desk would be happy to show off. A gold-plated envelope ripper that doubles as a ruler; its graduated markings in inches are engraved along the edge because don't you want to measure your Visa bill ($36)?"
A self-sufficient four-inch glass sphere houses two or three miniature shrimp with gravel, an artificial coral branch, and algae that provide oxygen and food, priced at $99. Lava lamps originated with Edward Craven Walker, a British accountant who conceived the design after observing an experimental egg-timer and founded Mathos in 1963 to manufacture the lamps. Mathos still produces models, including a nearly ten-foot slim column ($8,500), a dolphin-like tower ($415), and a copper-plated candle-powered capsule ($50). Mathos does not ship to the U.S., where new lava lamps start around $30. Decorative letter openers range from a gold-plated envelope ripper with engraved ruler markings ($36) to a twist of steel by Enzo Mari ($70) and hand-forged pieces from traditional smiths.
Read at www.newyorker.com
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