Wedgwood's Hammer and the Potter's Second Chance

In 1769, Josiah Wedgwood limped through his pottery works in Burslem, Staffordshire, leaning on his wooden leg, inspecting every piece that came off the wheels. When he found a vessel with a flaw — a crooked rim, an uneven glaze, a lopsided form — he brought his cane down hard, smashing it on the workbench. Chalk-scrawled on the shattered remains were the words: "This will not do for Josiah Wedgwood."…