Why Disposable Diapers Are Like Microchips

Malcolm Gladwell has done it again. This article is very much in the spirit of the books by Henry Petroski, who has written about the engineering hidden in ordinary objects such as paperclips and pencils. Gladwell explains the chemical developments that have made disposable diapers smaller, cheaper, more effective, and less environmentally damaging - a history that parallels that of the microchip. The article appears on Gladwell's Web pages, hyperlinked from here.