Two recent finds on the Web made an instant connection in my mind, because it contained three things that interest me: technology adoptions, what’s cool, and drawing conclusions that may not exist. Take the New York Times’ excellent Timeline of Technology adoption and the equally excellent Timeline of Cool, put them together, and start making crazy observations!

For example, I found it interesting that at the two times that the automobile had its largest jumps in adoption rates, surrealism and pop art were popular. Notice the juxtaposition of the air conditioner and Woodstock? (Was the clothes dryer responsible for the rise of soul music?) How the popularity of film noir and crime fiction went up as radio adoption exploded? Feel free to make your own crazy theories in the comments.