This will be a really big deal if it works, and small-scale field tests seem promising. (The quality of the video below is lousy, but it gives you the idea.) The most intriguing thing about Square, though, at least so far, is the conceptual leap that Dorsey may have been uniquely qualified to make: Payment transactions are a kind of social interchange.

FORBES: The future is Square

Sometimes a big blue hand would come down out of the sky and sweep away one or more levels of the square tower, or even the whole thing.

NEWYORKER: Ziggurat

The lemon square turns into acceptance of a dinner invitation and next thing you know, your business relationship is compromised by your personal relationship.

FORBES: Lemon Squares and the Acceptance Thereof

This thing is just a wee bit cumbersome: 700 square feet to create enough hydrogen to run a fuel cell car 10, 000 miles a year and supply electricity for the house.

FORBES: Magazine Article

For one thing, Mr Obama is plainly juggling multiple crises, from floods in Tennessee to a bomb in Times Square.

ECONOMIST: Lexington

While a small but vocal group of anti-war protesters, who have acquired tiny plots of one tsubo (3.3 square metres) or less, have been demanding that America vacate the land they own, that is the last thing that most local landlords want.

ECONOMIST: Japan