Shutters, A Great Invention
Shutters should be added to our list of the world's greatest inventions. What's on our list? Crispy duck. Berets. The semi-colon. And now shutters.
It has been hot here in France. The sun beats down; the temperature has risen to the high '80s. We have no air conditioning. But we have shutters. We close the shutters, partially, in the morning to block out the sun. Then, in the evening, when it cools off, we open them up and enjoy the cool air. In the winter, you close shutters at night to conserve heat. In the summer, you use them to regulate heat and light. And always, they protect windows, curtains and fabrics.
We still remember the louvre shutters on our grandparents' house in Maryland. With the shutters closed, rooms were mysteriously dark...even in the middle of the day. When they were opened, it was like the opening of the cathedral doors on Easter Sunday...the light came in and the room was transformed. And in the summer, when it rained, we left the shutters closed and the windows opened. The fresh, moist air was a delight.
And now, with the coming of the credit contraction, real shutters are ready for a comeback.
Until tomorrow,
Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning Australia
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About the Author
Best-selling investment author Bill Bonner is the founder and president of Agora Publishing, one of the world's most successful consumer newsletter companies. Owner of both Fleet Street Publications and MoneyWeek magazine in the UK, he is also author of the free daily e-mail The Daily Reckoning.
Comment by Lachlan on 19 August 2009:
Thanks for the tip-off Bill. Going long now on Shutters Are Us.