Twenty-Two Letters and One Hell of a Hangover

Now with extra Phoenician tears

Behold the greatest self-inflicted wound in merchandising history. 1200 BCE. Tyre and Sidon, the original crypto-bros of the Mediterranean, are absolutely printing money.

The A B C's of Debt and Ritual Human Sacrifice

The Alphabet’s First Killer Apps

The story we tell ourselves is that writing began with poetry, prayer, or philosophy is a polite fiction. The real story is colder, older, and carved in stone. The alphabet’s very first killer applications were two, and only two:


1. Debt
2. Ritual human sacrifice