The HMHS Britannic was designed to be safer than the Titanic, but it sank faster. A minor rule violation—leaving portholes open for ventilation against standing orders—allowed water to bypass the watertight compartments after a mine strike, causing a cascading failure that doomed the ship.
Many on the Titanic delayed evacuating because its nearly identical sister ship, the Olympic, had survived a similar hull puncture months earlier. This past success created a false sense of security and normalcy bias, leading people to underestimate the immediate danger.
The Art-o-mat started as one artist's project but grew into a national network of 200 machines. This was only possible when the founder created a formal organization to handle logistics, artist curation, and machine maintenance, transitioning from a "dude with a project" to a scalable system.
Sports regulators tolerated Speedo's polyurethane swimsuit until it and its successors led to an "unbelievable rate" of broken records (147 in 2009 alone). The sheer velocity of improvement, which felt jarring and unnatural, prompted a complete ban, not just the initial innovation.
While the Britannic was sinking, survivor Violet Jessup risked returning for a toothbrush. This seemingly irrational act, prompted by a minor regret from her Titanic survival, provided a small point of control and normalcy amidst extreme chaos, demonstrating a powerful human coping mechanism.
Speedo exploited World Aquatics' lenient definition of "fabric" to incorporate polyurethane panels into its LZR Racer swimsuit. This seemingly small loophole allowed for a game-changing product that created less drag, giving swimmers a significant advantage, and forcing the entire industry and its regulators to react.
Art-o-mat repurposed cigarette vending machines, forcing over 400 participating artists to create work that fits within the precise dimensions of a king-sized hard pack. This strict, arbitrary constraint, inherited from a defunct technology, fosters creativity and defines the project's unique identity.