Ethiopians first discovered coffee by making energy bars out of the beans rolled in animal fat but it was the arabs in the 11th century who first made coffee into a hot drink in the yemeni port of mocha ive been savoring these facts and other trivia from an uncommon history of common things for the last 9 months. Our inquisitive species just loves tinkering testing and pushing the limits and this delightfully different book is a freewheeling reference to hundreds of customs notions and inventions that reflect human ingenuity throughout historyfrom hand tools to holidays to weapons to washing machines an uncommon history of common things features . An uncommon history of common things authors bethanne patrick john thompson contributor henry petroski publisher national geographic books 2015 isbn 1426212275 9781426212277 length 304. Knowing the uncommon histories of those common things helps us realize that underlying all the achievements are uncommonly talented focused and dedicated individuals who work toward a common good the advancement of human achievement