
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
99% Invisible producer emeritus Avery Trufelman traveled from New York to San Francisco recently, and took host Roman Mars to see an unusually shaped old building on the west side of the Bay. As it turns out, this peculiar octagonal home isn't unique -- there was a whole architectural fad of building these back in the mid 1800s, tapping into a parallel trend: self-improvement.
Publisher Orson Fowler (most famous for being a phrenologist) used his professional position to self-publish a book about the many benefits, health and otherwise, of living in an octagonal home. His book, Octagon House: A Home For All, became a sensation. In its wake, hundreds of octagon houses started popping up all over the country.
The Octagon House
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free.
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
4.8
2531725,317 ratings
99% Invisible producer emeritus Avery Trufelman traveled from New York to San Francisco recently, and took host Roman Mars to see an unusually shaped old building on the west side of the Bay. As it turns out, this peculiar octagonal home isn't unique -- there was a whole architectural fad of building these back in the mid 1800s, tapping into a parallel trend: self-improvement.
Publisher Orson Fowler (most famous for being a phrenologist) used his professional position to self-publish a book about the many benefits, health and otherwise, of living in an octagonal home. His book, Octagon House: A Home For All, became a sensation. In its wake, hundreds of octagon houses started popping up all over the country.
The Octagon House
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free.
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
43,935 Listeners
90,613 Listeners
30,974 Listeners
6,834 Listeners
13,153 Listeners
3,904 Listeners
32,085 Listeners
2,179 Listeners
3,915 Listeners
2,087 Listeners
15,941 Listeners
3,296 Listeners
112 Listeners
5,078 Listeners
2,197 Listeners
184 Listeners
17,602 Listeners
57,719 Listeners
33 Listeners
18 Listeners
2,171 Listeners
96 Listeners
18 Listeners
382 Listeners
4,292 Listeners
20,713 Listeners
1,591 Listeners
376 Listeners
165 Listeners
22 Listeners
564 Listeners
12 Listeners
748 Listeners
72 Listeners
2 Listeners