Enter David Warren, an Australian whose father was killed in an air crash. In the mid-1950s, after helping investigate a plane wreck, he came up with a way to capture information from any plane’s last minutes.

His idea: Embed recording devices that, in case of impact, would cease overwriting old data with new. He prototyped his Flight Memory Unit in 1957.

Flight-data recorders and cockpit voice recorders are now standard, and have helped explain crashes and improve airline safety.

Why are these bright orange units called “black boxes?”

Some think the first one was black, but others point to the term’s meaning in science: a complex entity whose result is known, even if its inner workings are not.

That’s it for this briefing. If you’re still curious about our redesign, my colleagues have written more about the process we used. Look below, under P.S., for links to “The Daily” and the mini crossword. See you next time. — Chris

Thank you

To Eleanor Stanford for the cultural recommendations and Kenneth R. Rosen for the Smarter Living tips. Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, in our Australia bureau, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing+redesign@nytimes.com.

P.S.

• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about Michael Cohen’s new guilty plea.

• Here’s today’s mini crossword, and a clue: Majority of a blue whale’s diet (5 letters).

• We can publish to your calendar, too! Sign up to get synced with our listings of New York City cultural highlights or notable astronomical events.

