Three Centuries of Economy Seen Through the Fascinating History of Nails.

One minute of work produces 3,500 times more nails today than at the end of the 17th century.

Yes, it is possible to make a window from a nail. An economist, not an engineer, has achieved this. His window is a bit unusual: it opens on a three-century epic, which reveals that the nail once counted as much in the economy ... as the computer does today.

Daniel Sichel, a former Fed official turned professor of economics at Wellesley University near B…