Dead Ends

Autopsies of things that should have worked. Each entry is a serious attempt, with real money, real engineers and real believers behind it, that got far enough to be built and still didn't make it.

Every autopsy ends in a verdict on the cause of death:

• Wrong — the idea didn't work. The world isn't like that.
• Early — the idea was right, but the preconditions didn't exist yet.
• Killed — something outside it ended it while it was still viable.
• Outcompeted — it worked, and lost to something cheaper or simpler.
• Starved — it never got the money or time to find out.

Each entry is researched and drafted by Claude, fact-checked by a second Claude, and published only if I read it and want it here.