Wondering Why They Started With ‘Z’

The New New — Issue Seventeen

In which books and bathrooms, heat and kitchens, plus retirement and fandom all ride together in unexpected ways.

Image from Martin Klimas’s Sonic Sculptures series.

This irregular—and often irreverent—roundup of emerging experiences, culture-driven experiments, and scoops of perception is back for the seventeeth time.

Join me in celebrating a future of cleaner public toilets and in wondering why a new weather naming system started with the letter Z.

Take a Look

Laser Pen, drawing words in mid-air—no ink or paper needed

A‑books, digitally augmenting the reality of reading a print book

Future Library, a home for books that will be first read in over 100 years

Prebunking, a method of “vaccinating” against false narratives and misinformation

The New Loo

Throne Scores, bringing cleanliness accountability to public toilets

Reinvented Toilet, now ready to set solid waste on fire

Hot and Not

Zoe, the world’s first named heat wave

Outdoor AC, cooling down outdoor spaces—without using any electricity

Cooking the Cookies

Cookie Stealing hackers can now get past multifactor authentication

Fully Autonomous Restaurant, the robots have taken over the full experience

The Re-Re

Rewirement, replacing the thrill of retirement

Adaptive Reuse Architecture, designing new buildings to be repurposed later

Finding Fans

Weird Girl, the aesthetic that isn’t attached to any one decade, and may have staying power

Phone-based Productions, where the audience and performers share guided conversations

New Fandom Formula, Community x Autonomy x Equity


The New New will be back again.

Until then, let’s go back to last December when Issue Ten also brought together writing and books. Jump over to see how we will be taking notes with Air-Ink pens, cutting with wooden knives, weeding with lasers, inserting advertisements into dreams, and hanging out with silent book clubs.


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Brent is a member of the executive team for Opus Agency, an experience agency that delivers flagship programs for 13 of the top 20 global brands.

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