"Dad, what's inside mum's vacuum cleaner?", " Dad, what's inside your golf ball?", "Dad, what's inside these headphones?". I'm glad he's curious but doesn't he know I'm trying to watch this game on TV. Fortunately help is at hand with Mike Warren's 'Cut in half' book. Fifty-eight everyday items have been cleverly halved by Warren's high pressure waterjet that uses fine garnet to blast things apart.
When I first looked through the book I was surprised at the simple but relatively crude edge left by the cutting tool but actually this turned out to be a virtue because it blended in with the very basically designed and produced interiors. Companies employ designers to create interesting and contemporary looking products with their smooth ergonomic surfaces, curves and made with colourful materials, this thinking (or marketing) evaporates when the insides are designed. Now the designer has to house the working parts in the most efficient way possible, the user isn't going to look inside so appearance and feel aren't relevant.
There are five chapters: Household appliances; Sports equipment; Electronics; Toys and games; Other stuff. I thought it was a good selection of products though maybe a boom box, video and cassette recorder are rather old fashioned now but they do show insides very typical of many electronic products. Nicely the book has some very ordinary items like an oil filter, padlock, spark plug and of course the inevitable golf, bowling and baseballs among others in the sports chapter. Nature isn't left out either, the last items in the book are tree cones, rocks and sea shells.
A worthwhile book for your curious youngsters and the cover is cleverly cut to reveal part of the inside pages and binding.
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