an appendix to pearlofcivilization.net
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/why-paper-jams-persist/amp
Like unbreachable blister packs or awkward sticky tape, paper jams suggest that imperfection will persist, despite our best efforts. They’re also a quintessential modern problem—a trivial consequence of an otherwise efficient technology that’s been made monumentally annoying by the scale on which that technology has been adopted.
Dark Roasted Blend: Intricate Japanese Movable Type Sets
“It is a widespread misconception that Johannes Gutenberg created the first movable type system and the printing press, around 1450 A.D. It’s true, Gutenberg was the first to make his movable type from a certain alloy of lead, tin, and antimony (which was more efficient than iron, used in Asia) – but movable type itself was originally invented in China around 1040 A.D. by Bi Seng (during the Song Dynasty). “