{"id":14109,"date":"2024-11-29T20:31:10","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T20:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?p=14109"},"modified":"2026-03-05T16:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:21:18","slug":"door-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/?p=14109","title":{"rendered":"Door key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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followthethings.com<\/strong>
Home & Auto<\/a>
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2006<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
UNBRANDED<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
DOOR KEY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
MADE IN MANY COUNTRIES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
USED IN THE UK<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FOLLOW IT YOURSELF<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
POP THE BUBBLE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
CROSS CULTURES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
TAKE IT TO PIECES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FOLLOW THE THING<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
MAKE IT FAMILIAR<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
BE THE CHARACTER<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
TELL A STORY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
JUXTAPOSE EXTREMES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
MAKE IT SNAPPY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Door Key<\/strong>“
Undergraduate coursework written by Alice Williams published in the Primary Geographer.<\/em>
Full text below.

The students’ first task in the ‘Geographies of Material Culture’ module at the University of Birmingham is to make a personal connection between their lives and the lives of others elsewhere in the world who made the things they buy. These are the people who help you to be you, followthethings.com CEO Ian tells them. So choose a commodity that matters to you, that’s an important part of your identity, that you couldn’t do without. Think about its component parts, its materials, and the properties they give to that commodity and your experience of ‘consuming it’. And write a 500 word first person account that connects your lives. Alice Williams writes about a recent experience. When she lost something and only then realised how important it was to her life. The key to her flat. Which gives her a sense of safety. Or at least she thinks so. Until she looks into its ingredients. Its metals. Like lead. Which is added to make it easier to cut. And its possible sources. Mines in South Africa and the USA. A smelter in Canada. A cutting plant in Italy… And the people who work with lead in these places. And the effects it has on their health. And their safety. They’re connected. Shouldn’t everyone feel safe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Page reference: Alice Williams (2006) Door Key. <\/em>followthethings.com\/door-key.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Ding-Dong\u2019\u2026 \u2018Ding-Ding\u2019. I was ringing the door bell out of desperation really. I knew no one was in and I knew I was LOCKED OUT!  \u2018Locked out\u2019 of my own home, my safe home. Why was \u2018it\u2019 letting me down? That little key. \u2018It\u2019 had always been so efficient before; letting \u2018me\u2019 in, keeping \u2018others\u2019 out; keeping \u2018us\u2019 safe<\/em>.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Safe\u2019? Well as safe as I could be with a key containing such high amounts of lead, 2.5% lead (State of California, Dept. of Justice 1999) to be exact, that I was slowly and unknowingly poisoning myself each time I open my door!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My \u2018lost\u2019 key was made from brass; a combination of Copper and Zinc. Lead was also added to my key, making \u2018it\u2019 easier to cut (Wikipedia 2010; State of California, Dept of Justice 2001). This lead \u2018rubs off\u2019 the key onto my skin and passes through into my blood each time I touch it (ibid<\/em>).2<\/sup> If significant amounts get into the body it can cause cancer, birth defects and neurological problems (State of Californian, Dept of Justice 1999).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These illnesses have been found in many lead mining communities across the world.  The population of Aggeneys, South Africa (Blignaut et al 2003), the rural community of North East Oklahoma (Kegler et al 2000), the 125 children of a mining community in Southwest Missouri (Evans et al<\/em> 1998a)\u2026the list goes on (Evans et al<\/em> 1998b.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot track the lead miners of my lost key.  \u2018It\u2019 and \u2018Its lead\u2019 was however touched by many others; \u2018The Smelters\u2019 at the \u2018Kaba-Ilco\u2019 Foundry in Montreal, Canada (Kaba Ilco 2006). \u2018The Casters\u2019 at \u2018Capitol Ltd\u2019 in Montreal (Capitol 2005). \u2018The Cutters\u2019 at \u2018Ilco Orion\u2019 in Italy (Ilco-Orion 2006). \u2018The Distributors\u2019 at the UK distribution centre in Surrey (Silca 2006). \u2018The Loaders\u2019, \u2018The Drivers\u2019, \u2018The Shop Assistants\u2019, \u2018The Builders\u2019 and \u2018Me\u2019.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All just so I could open my front door, all so that I could \u2018believe\u2019 I was safe. Why did I \u2018as a cyborg\u2019 need to malfunction to recognise this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018There it is, thank god! Hiding at the bottom of my bag! Finally I\u2019m \u2018in\u2019, home, safe! But now a week later, sitting in my room I\u2019m still thinking about \u2018It\u2019: that little key. Should I get a new one cut? Or cover the end with plastic? And am I more poisoned? More aware? Maybe the most important question is: are \u2018they\u2019?\u2019\u2026<\/em>4<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes & sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup> We are all cyborgs, all \u2018forms of life that are part human and part machine\u2019 (Downey et al <\/em>1995, 264). We, as Cyborgs, use, rely upon and in many cases \u2018become\u2019 a part of technology as we go about our daily mundane lives, opening our front doors. Cyborgs are thus a product of science, technology and society and in their creation the separation of these factors becomes difficult and unnecessary (Downey et al<\/em> 1995; Law & Hetherington 2000).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2<\/sup> I am a \u2018complex hybrid of meat and metal\u2019 (Kunzru 1997, 3). My reliance upon my key and more importantly \u2018its\u2019 becoming a part of me, make my body and technology inseparable. Haraway recognises such a link, stated by Kunzru (1997, 2) \u201cthe realities of modern life happen to include a relationship between people and technology so intimate that it\u2019s no longer possible to tell where we end and machines begin\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3<\/sup> My cyborg body, in turn, becomes part of the commodity chains of materials linked to that key (Cook et al<\/em> 2002). I become no longer constructed by \u2018self\u2019 but rather the complex network I am a part of (Kunzru 1997). In turn, whether knowingly or unknowingly, I become a \u2018collection of networks\u2019, all \u2018materially produced\u2019 in varying geographical space (Kunzru 1997, 4; Law & Hetherington 2000, 47). In this case the network of miners, their families, brass smelters, casters, cutters etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4<\/sup> My connection to these globe chains, make me a part of \u2018a messy web of personal pain, politics and science\u2019 (Kunzru 1997). I am the key, and I need the key, I am lost without the key, yet through this I am exposing other cyborgs to danger and illness (Cook et al<\/em> 2002). My agency however allows me to use technology to find out about these chains and the \u2018pain, politics and science\u2019 behind them. If I am a part of the chain, I can and should use this to recognise and appreciate what can be seen as \u2018unimportant\u2019 and \u2018abstract relationships\u2019 (Marx in Cook et al <\/em>2002, 1). I as a Cyborg must ask myself\u2026 Just because they are \u2018unseen\u2019 should they be forgotten (Cook et al <\/em>2002)? Shouldn\u2019t we all be safe?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Page posted by Ian Cook with the permission of the author. Originally written as coursework for the \u2018Geographies of Material Culture\u2019 module at Birmingham University (last updated June 2011). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blignaut, R., Kibel, M., Mahee, A., Robertson, P., Strauss, N. & Von Schirnding, Y. (2003) A study of pediatric blood lead levels in a lead mining area in South Africa.  Environmental Research <\/em>93(3), p.259-263<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitol (2005) Die Casting Specialists. Die-castings.com<\/em> (www.die-castings.com<\/a> last accessed 15 January 2006)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook et al, I. (2002) Commodities: the DNA of capitalism. Exchange-values.org [www.brookes.ac.uk\/schools\/apm\/social_sculpture\/exchangevalues\/Ian_Cook2.pdf<\/a> last accessed 13 January 2006)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downey, G. L., Dumit, J. & Williams, S. (1995) Cyborg Anthropology. Cultural Anthropology<\/em> 10(2), p.264-269<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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+ 12 sources<\/summary>\n

Evans, R. G., Murgueytio, A. M. & Roberts, D. (1998a) Relationship between soil and dust lead in a leading area and blood lead levels. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology<\/em> 8(2), p.173-186<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans, R. G., Murgueytio A. M., Roberts, D., Serrano, F. & Sterling, D. (1998b) Behaviours and blood lead levels of children in a lead mining area and a comparison community. Journal of Environmental Health<\/em> 60(6), p.14-20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilco-Orion. (2006) Index\/Address page. ilco-orion.com<\/em> (www.ilco-orion.com<\/a> last accessed 13 January 2006, link no longer works).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaba\/Ilco. (2006) Kaba Ilco, Global provider of access control solutions. kaba-ilco-com<\/em> (www.kaba-ilco.com<\/a> last accessed 14 January 2006).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kegler, M.C., Lynch, R. A., Malcoe, L. H. & Skaggs, V. J. (2000) The relationship between residential lead exposures and elevated blood lead levels in a rural mining community. Journal of Environmental Health<\/em> 63(3), p.9-15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kunzru, H. (1997) You are cyborg: for Donna Haraway, we are already assimilated. Wired<\/em> February (www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/5.02\/ffharaway_pr.html<\/a> last accessed 14 January 2006)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law, J. & Hetherington, K. (2000) Materialities, Spatialities, Globalities. in Bryson, J., Daniels, P., Henry, N. & Pollard, J. (eds) Knowledge, Space, Economy.<\/em> London: Routledge, p.34-49<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silca. (2006) Silica. silica.it<\/em> (www.silca.it\/welcome-f.html<\/a> last accessed 15 January 2006).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State of California, Dept of Justice. (1999) Attorney General Lockyer Sues Key Manufacturers Over Failure to Warn Consumers About Exposure to Lead from Keys in Violation of Proposition 65: Cautions Against Using Keys As Toys With Small Children<\/em>. News release, Office of the Attorney General, 12 October (http:\/\/ag.ca.gov\/newsalerts\/release.php?id=529<\/a> last accessed 15 January 2006)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State of California, Dept. of Justice. (2001) Major Manufacturers Agree to Reduce Amount of Lead in Door Keys<\/em>. News release, Office of the Attorney General, 27 April  (http:\/\/ag.ca.gov\/newsalerts\/release.php?id=529<\/a> last accessed 15 January 2006)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wikipedia (2010) Brass. wikipedia.org<\/em> (http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brass<\/a> last modified 3 July 2010)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook, I., Williams, A. & Motamedi, M. (2006). Stuff Geography. Primary Geographer <\/em>(Autumn), p.38-39 (www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk\/images\/text\/CPDGR_PGCook.pdf<\/a> last accessed 24 June 2011)<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

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Image credit<\/summary>\n

Header:<\/strong> Doorbell (https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/9JmW3n) by Alexa LaSpisa (CC BY 2.0).<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

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followthethings.comHome & Auto “Door Key“Undergraduate coursework written by Alice Williams published in the Primary Geographer.Full text below. The students’ first task in the ‘Geographies of Material Culture’ module at the University of Birmingham is to make a personal connection between their lives and the lives of others elsewhere in the world who made the things […]<\/p>\n

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