How English tally sticks became tradable tax credit

English tally sticks became tradable credit backed by taxes

The English government used notched wooden sticks to represent taxes that people would pay in the future. A person holding one could use it for payment or sell it for coins. Future tax income had effectively become something people could trade.

One person disagreeing can greatly reduce pressure to follow a group

In Asch's experiments, people sometimes agreed with a group even when the group's answer was clearly wrong. But when just one other person disagreed with the majority, people became much less likely to follow the wrong answer.

Moscow's first metro stations spread Soviet values

Stalin-era planners designed the original Moscow Metro as both public transport and a display of state art. Its themed stations were meant to immerse riders in Soviet values, making an ordinary commute a repeated encounter with those ideas.

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How English tally sticks became tradable tax credit

English tally sticks became tradable credit backed by taxes

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