Why we hate umbrellas
1999. Design engineer Greig Brebner stepped out of a doorway into the human rush hour of a London pavement, the blustery sky pockmarked with the first sprinkles of rain.
At 1.9m tall, the New Zealander could see over most of the crowd to his destination. But as the downpour gathered pace, his eyes were suddenly at the mercy of hundreds of bristling spikes: the ends of umbrellas being unfurled around him. Moments later the wind turned one of them inside out, it’s owner struggling to avoid taking Greig’s eye out.
