A full return to the office is guaranteed to fail

The Romans never created the stirrup. What we know today as a "chest of drawers" didn't emerge until the late 17th Century.

- Tiaan Herbst

Before that, people stored valuables in deep chests or coffers.

The doorknob wasn't invented until 1878. The tea bag originated by happenstance in the early 20th Century when a New York tea merchant shipped samples in small silk pouches.

When we look back on the invention and adoption of ideas, the process often seems orderly and inevitable. But if you examine history closely, it's actually wildly uneven and random.

Take Edward Jenner's discovery of the smallpox vaccine. I always assumed that as soon as Jenner made his breakthrough, it was instantly celebrated and widely implemented within 10 years or so. In reality, it was met with resistance and scepticism for about half a century.