About this episode
99% Invisible producer emeritus Avery Trufelman traveled from New York to San Francisco recently, and took host Roman Mars to see (0:31) Octagon House, an unusually shaped old building on the west side of the Bay. As it turns out, this peculiar octagonal home isn't unique—there was a whole architectural fad of building these back in the mid 1800s, tapping into a parallel trend: self-improvement.
Publisher Orson Fowler (most famous for being a phrenologist) used his professional position to self-publish a book about the many benefits, health and otherwise, of living in an octagonal home. His book, Octagon House: A Home For All, became a sensation. In its wake, hundreds of octagon houses started popping up all over the country.
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