In 1945, the defection of Igor Gouzenko, a code clerk at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, and Elizabeth Bently, an American courier between the spies and the Soviets, plus the knowledge that at least some of their secret cables had been decoded, led to an almost total shut-down of the espionage apparatus in the United States.

ECONOMIST: History of espionage: Dark secrets | The

If you were a teenager in the mid 1970s and couldn't afford a Moog, a self-build Paia kit was a way to get your own synth (plus a working knowledge of soldering) for cheap.

ENGADGET: Music Thing: Paia Synth Kits

Between the boards and the network knowledge, plus features like user ratings on the quality of ads, this is probably also a decent place to find out what real consumers think of tech products once they are deployed.

FORBES: Tech's Sales Future - Media

Profits ultimately provide entrepreneurs with knowledge and light, plus they signal to investors which entrepreneurs to back.

FORBES: Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" Is a Great Lesson In Economics

Its extensive knowledge about all things VC plus its quantitative analysis made this project possible.

FORBES: Changing the World, One VC at a Time

Earlier this week Google introduced us to its Knowledge Graph, a 500 million plus fact-filled database that it has developed from its own research and its acquisition of MetaWeb Technologies.

FORBES: How a Search for the Movie 'Battleship' Fares Under Google's Knowledge Graph

But no one, to Buttonwood's knowledge, believes that higher oil prices are a net plus for economic activity.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood