The blueprint dates from November 15, 1904. Drawn with great precision, it shows an elongated handle, a toothed piece, a few small screws, and a thin, sharp metal blade. It is the patent for the shaving machine invented by King C. Gillette, an American entrepreneur who understood the commercial potential of disposable products before many others.

It appears in superhero movies like X-Men or Batman begins, in musicals like Hairspray and in iconic films like The Godfather, Pulp Fiction or Apocalypse Now. Even, if you look closely, it can be seen in the animated film WALL·E. In more than 2,000 productions, there is someone who takes it out of their pocket, opens it and releases the flame. It's a Zippo, the reusable and wind-resistant metal lighter that over the years has become one of the most recognizable icons of North American pop culture. But it's also a big business: headquartered in Pennsylvania, it has nearly a thousand employees, produces about 14 million lighters each year, and has annual revenues of nearly 400 million dollars.The company was born in 1932 and, since then, has already sold more than 650 million lighters. But how did such a small object become a true American symbol? How did it make a place for itself in Hollywood and in pockets around the world? The first spark

The story of all this begins in Bradford, a small town in Pennsylvania, in the early thirties. The businessman George G. Blaisdell lived there. One day he came across a scene that changed his life: a friend of his was struggling with a bulky, uncomfortable, and impractical lighter. The device had an obvious virtue: thanks to its protective chimney, the flame resisted the wind well. But it also had flaws: it had to be opened with two hands, it broke easily, and it had a rather rudimentary appearance.Blaisdell immediately saw that there was a business idea there. At the end of 1932, he redesigned that lighter and transformed it into a more elegant, robust, and easy-to-use object. He added a rectangular casing, a hinged lid, and a mechanism that allowed it to be opened with one hand, but he kept the system that protected the flame from the wind. The first Zippo was born. The new lighter began to be sold in 1933 for $1.95, accompanied by a promise that made it famous: the brand assured the customer that, if it didn't work, they would repair it for free. The impetus of the war

The definitive boost, however, did not reach the shop windows, but the front line. With the entry of the United States into World War II, in 1941, Zippo stopped manufacturing lighters for the civilian market and dedicated all production to the North American army. In those years, the company replaced brass with steel and began manufacturing the black-finished models that are collector's items today.The war did the rest. Millions of American soldiers took the Zippo to the battlefield and turned it, almost unintentionally, into an emblem of the United States. The lighter was small, robust, worked in adverse conditions, and moreover, had a recognizable appearance. For many soldiers, it was not just a useful object, but also a personal, almost intimate, item that accompanied them in the midst of chaos.When the war ended, in 1945, Zippo returned to the civilian market, but it was no longer just any brand. It had ceased to be a simple lighter to become an object loaded with narrative. From then on, the company knew how to exploit this aura with intelligence: it kept the original mechanism almost intact, reinforced the idea of durability with the forever guarantee, and began to invest in advertising and in getting it featured in movies.From Bradford to Hollywood

After the post-war period, Zippo turned the prestige gained on the front into a big business. During the fifties and sixties, the lighter became popular as an advertising medium, the company refined some details without touching its essence, and the brand began to make a place for itself in popular culture, from concerts to cinema and television. Meanwhile, the company remained in family hands even after the founder, George G. Blaisdell, died in 1978, and it continued to expand the business: in the nineties, it bought W.R. Case & Sons and inaugurated its own museum in Bradford. In the 21st century, it legally protected the shape of its lighter, diversified products, and in 2010 acquired Ronson, a historic competitor.

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It's the 1970s. In a Barcelona apartment, the bathtub is full of bubbles. Nearby, the octagonal, burgundy container of Moussel ice. On the sink, next to the mirror, rests a bottle of cologne: S3. At that time, these two products were staples in Catalan bathrooms. In fact, their television commercials were constantly playing: images of freshness, one jingle Sticky and a final phrase that an entire generation still remembers: "A Legrain product, Paris."

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It's the 1920s, in Barcelona. You've left home to buy milk: you enter the store, wait behind the counter, ask for six liters, and the clerk pours it for you in glass bottles. However, on the other side of the Atlantic, the ritual has already changed. In the United States, customers no longer ask for anything: they simply take it. The products are on the shelves, packaged, ready to go. In cities like New York, a completely new way of understanding food sales is taking root. Packaging, until then secondary, has become the center of everything. It's key to guaranteeing hygiene, facilitating transport, and extending the shelf life of products.

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Sustainability has become an increasingly sought-after skill in the job market. This is according to a study conducted by the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) in collaboration with PIMEC, which reveals how, in recent years, the demand for professionals in Catalonia linked to green professions has steadily increased. According to the report, based on 1.7 million job postings published between 2018 and 2023, green occupations have increased by 17% and now represent 7.5% of total job vacancies.

]]> "I chose to study lifeguarding and first aid because I like sports and, at the same time, I like helping people," explains one student in this training program. "I chose fencing because I've practiced it since I was 11 and I've always seen it as a possible career path," adds another student. "Being a football coach is my dream," says a student who has opted for professional training in this sport. These are the voices of young men and women who, in recent years, have chosen to focus their education and careers on the world of sports. But what exactly are sports education programs in Catalonia, and how do they work?

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Finishing high school and wanting to continue studying at university without having to leave home, combining work with a degree, or returning to the classroom after a few years to advance professionally. These are some of the most common situations among students who value online learning as an alternative for continuing their education. In Catalonia, there are around thirty degrees that can be completed entirely online. Most are part of the catalog of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), with options ranging from fields such as economics and communication to computer science, psychology, and social sciences.

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Vocational training continues to gain popularity among students in Catalonia. Last September, the allocation of places reached a record high: 81,479 students secured a place in a vocational training program. In total, more than 96,000 people participated in the pre-registration process, a figure that confirms the sustained growth of these studies in recent years. This milestone "places Catalonia at the forefront of Spanish autonomous communities with the strongest presence in vocational education," highlighted the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Esther Niubó, at the beginning of the academic year.

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Many high school seniors have been anxiously eyeing the calendar for weeks. The end of the school year is approaching, and with it, one of the most important decisions of their academic career: choosing what to study next. The same is true for many vocational students, who are considering whether to continue their studies, specialize, or enter the job market directly.

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In a classroom at the Catalonia College of Music (ESMUC), a student tunes her violin before class begins. Meanwhile, at the Catalonia College of Dramatic Art (ESAD), a group of students rehearses a scene. A few meters away, young dancers from the Catalonia College of Dance (CSD) practice a choreography in front of a mirror. At the Catalonia College of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ESCRBCC), there's also activity: students examine an old painting with a magnifying glass before working on it. At the Catalonia College of Design and Fine Arts (ESDAPC), creativity flows everywhere.

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Imagine a kitchen utensil designed to make the most of leftover vegetables, a new food product created from bread scraps, or a redesigned school cafeteria that generates less waste and offers healthier menus. All these ideas have something in common: they are examples of food design, a discipline that applies design thinking to the world of food.

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To make the Catalan university system more inclusive and accessible to everyone. With this principle in mind, the country's universities have been promoting initiatives for years to facilitate access to higher education and ensure that more and more students can pursue a degree. Among the mechanisms to make this possible are a wide variety of tools: from scholarship and financial aid programs to support services for students with disabilities or specific needs. In parallel, new, more flexible learning models have also been implemented, allowing students to combine their studies with other personal or professional commitments.

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For decades, universities have emphasized one concept: specialization. Their classrooms have produced economists, political scientists, philosophers—defined profiles trained in disciplines with clear boundaries. However, it is increasingly difficult to address major contemporary debates from a single perspective. A multitude of challenges arise: how to regulate artificial intelligence without stifling innovation, how to guarantee economic growth without exacerbating inequalities, how to govern society in a context of polarization and climate crisis… The degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics is based on this observation: complexity is not addressed by fragmenting knowledge, but by doing.

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Around the booths at the Education Fair, nerves and anticipation are always a mix. Groups of students, backpacks slung over their shoulders, crowd the counters, stacking brochures and comparing cut-off scores on their phones. Parents are also there, taking notes with them to try and clarify the big dilemma looming over the visit: what will I study next year?

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The grass at Wimbledon is mowed with millimeter precision. It is the summer of 1928, and the crowd, dressed in hats and light-colored dresses, watches in silence. On Centre Court are two Frenchmen. One is Henri Cochet; the other, René Lacoste. The latter wears an immaculate white shirt and keeps his gaze fixed on his opponent. When the ball comes to him, he strikes it with almost mechanical precision. He is not a player of instinct, but of method. He analyzes, waits, and wears down his opponent until the exact moment to attack arrives.

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Perhaps today you woke up to your phone alarm. You had breakfast and drove to work in a state-of-the-art car that corrected your trajectory to keep you in your lane. Sitting at your office, you edited a video and made a couple of queries to an artificial intelligence service. Despite being very different actions, behind them there was very likely a chip from the same brand: Nvidia. For two decades, it has been the leading graphics card company, but now it is also the world's leading supplier of chips for artificial intelligence. Nvidia has become the key component of the data centers that power large generative AI models. This has led it to break stratospheric revenue records. In the last fiscal year, Nvidia generated $215.9 billion, 65% more than the previous year, registering a net profit of almost $117 billion. But who is behind Nvidia, and how has it managed to transition to AI so effectively?

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Several backlit advertising panels hang from the wall of the Barceloneta metro station platform. Most are vertical and advertise the latest series to arrive on the platforms. There's also a larger, horizontal one, currently displaying a campaign for a children's NGO. Every now and then, a worker comes by to change the posters, but one thing always remains: the name JCDecaux. The more observant will have noticed it printed in small, gray letters along the top of the panels.

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A boy boards a bus and stops in front of the driver, who extends his hand. Nervously, he frantically searches his pockets: he finds no coins, only a handful of candies. He opens his fist and shows it to them. "I only have Sugus," he says sadly. The driver looks at him for a second, considers the offer, and declares: "Well, I'll pay you with Sugus!" When the boy sits down, the other passengers rush to see if they can get some too. This was the premise of one of the black and white commercials that Spanish Television broadcast in the late 1970s. Back then, Sugus were one of the most popular candies in candy stores. They weren't hard, but they weren't chewing gum either; they didn't break or crunch, but rather softened slowly; they could be chewed or licked until they dissolved. But what made them especially recognizable was their perfect cube shape and the color system that allowed you to identify their flavor without having to read anything.

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David Sprüngli, a robust man with calloused hands, always arrives at the bakery before dawn. There he finds his son, Rudolf. Together they prepare the pastries they will sell in the shop that day. He is sixty years old and it has been a long road to get where he is: orphaned at the age of eight, he worked as a baker's apprentice and ended up as a servant in a Zurich household. In 1836, he finally became the owner of his own establishment. Little by little, he was specializing in a product that was still almost a rarity: chocolate. It used to be sold melted, for drinking. But in 1838, he began producing it in a solid, compact, workable form. Seven years later, he had already opened another shop in the heart of the Swiss capital, on Paradeplatz, surrounded by a refined, bourgeois clientele.

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