Today’s Fun with Research – Locks

Much to my combined surprise and chagrin, I keep finding commercial websites really handy when it comes to quick-and-dirty research for fiction. The academic part of me wants to restrict my efforts to university-based websites, but I keep finding great answers to simple questions by visiting site’s like Schlage’s – and it makes sense, when someone has a product to sell, they’re going to spice up the pitch with some interesting details. So, why read a thesis when all you want is a brief history on metal locks?