Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,981 appearances
17 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard 13 Sep
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 14 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 3.
Appearances
These colorful little umbrellas were more than just decorations.
For many Americans, they represented luxury and exoticism, the fantasy of the South Pacific.
Today, paper umbrellas frequently adorn cocktails such as the Mai Tai, the Blue Hawaiian, and the Pina Colada.
To this day, umbrellas are often still associated with a sense of pride and importance.
For a while, China had the world's largest umbrella.
But as of 2018, that title goes to Abu Dhabi with an umbrella that's 24.5 meters in diameter.
Some of the important umbrellas that we've mentioned earlier can still be seen.
At the Terracotta Army exhibit in Xi'an, China, there's the bronze chariot with its ancient umbrella.
In Bangkok, Thailand, there's the royal nine-tiered umbrella, the most sacred in the country.
And in some Catholic basilicas, you can keep an eye out for the papal umbraculum.
It is remarkable that the umbrella, an accessory once made from paper, silk, feathers, or palm leaves, could have evolved centuries later into so many unique designs and hold so many meanings for different civilizations.
But what does the future of the umbrella look like?
New and innovative designs are emerging as we speak.
Startups are floating the idea of flying umbrellas, futuristic drone-like devices that hover above the head, offering a hands-free solution.
Another proposal is an umbrella that uses warm air to deflect the rain without the need for a canopy at all.
The question is, will advances in technology make a vast difference to the umbrella industry?
Or will we loop back to the beginning again, simply re-engineering and rebranding an accessory that has already existed for thousands of years?
One thing seems certain.
For as long as the rain falls, we will continue to have umbrellas in one form or another.
We will always have them at our disposal, come rain or shine.
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