Chrysler Building in 1930, was the largest building in the world. Having no practical purpose, its benefit was much questioned, and it was not only the greatest edifice ever built of iron, but also the last of significant size. The shifting economics away from the Old World to the New created a period of hyper self-indulgence in the US known as the Gilded Age, in which every measure of wealth, productivity and well-being skyrocketed. The new super-rich built on a magnificent scale and the collection of European Art and artefacts into the US gathered pace. The Vanderbilt empire – founded on railways and shipping, created many mansions including the vast Chateau-esque Biltmore mansion in North Carolina. The Study The study is historically a quiet storage room. Because of less human traffic, studies can be places for household pests to live, and this chapter talks about humans and pests. Topics covered include James Henry Atkinson's mousetrap, disease vectors, rats, mites, bedbugs, Charles P. Gerba's work on germs in the home, bats, and locusts. The Garden This section touches on such subjects as the first public gardens, Frederick Law Olmsted and his career, and early burial grounds being used as parks. The Plum Room This room is used by Bryson to touch on the history of architecture, starting with the works of Andrea Palladio, and moving on to Monticello and Jefferson, as well as Mount Vernon and Washington. The Stairs This section is about the accidents one can experience on the stairs and elsewhere, and the other objects in the home that, at a time, used to be deadly, such as wallpaper and paint. Fact: more deaths occur from injuries on the stairs than from almost any other cause. The Bedroom This section examines the topics of sex, sleep and death. The Bathroom This section looks at the history of hygiene. The Dressing Room The theme for this chapter is clothing and fashion. Topics discussed include Ötzi the Iceman; the history of linen, hemp, wool, and silk; sumptuary laws; English medieval clothing; wigs in Europe from the mid-17th century to about 1800; cosmetics; Beau Brummell; history of cotton; James Hargreaves' spinning jenny; Richard Arkwright; Edmund Cartwright; Eli Whitney; corsets; and Victorian fashion. The Nursery This section touches on Victorian notions of childhood, living conditions for the poor including accounts of nineteenth-century workhouses, and the unusual relationships between the aristocratic parent and child.