Over a year ago, an article on the New York Times appeared entitled “Stuff That Defines Us.”  The purpose of the article was to show how 100 objects shaped world’s history.  These objects, culled from the British Museum’s collections, were further narrated on BBC Radi04 program in 2010 by Neil MacGregor, director of the museum.  As many listeners tuned in to hear this colorful broadcast, BBC worked together with the British museum and eventually published the notable book, A History of the World in 100 Objects.

The objects represent various symbols of power, social history, and human behavior.  The underlying mission of the British Museum was to take a single object and put it into a larger context and let it narrate a story to which everybody can relate. Among these objects was one of the oldest – a two million year old chopping tool made of stone found in Tanzania  which according to MacGregor, was “the beginning of the tool box.”  Although the British Museum incorporated many objects into their collection like the chopping tool, curators wanted to find the final object that would “reflect something pretty important for the end of 2010,” said MacGregor.

Many would assume the final object would be something highly technological, such as the iPad or iPhone.  Instead, the museum decided the final object is a plastic, solar-powered light, which being only the size of a coffee mug, can illuminate an entire room.  MacGregor noted, “Once they have access to solar power, they have access to the Internet, then they have access to the world of knowledge.”  We don’t realize how the little pieces in our lives take shape of how we exist as a whole.  It’s the things we easily overlook when we walk through a museum that can hold the most significance.  Almost everything we take for granted most likely has a history, which is something interesting to think about when we try to make sense of the world today.

Inspired by this story, the staff of Padua360 will be featuring articles on objects that define our lives today.  Check in each week to see the newest items.