Almost every discussion of business opportunity in Africa focused on the amazing growth of the mobile phone industry. That growth has been astounding, but it’s hard to know whether that growth will be replicable in other sectors.

It’s true, when I was in Kenya and Tanzania last summer I could not believe the number of people I saw using cell phones, selling cell phones, selling the use of cell phones, etc. Almost everybody had a phone, almost every store of every kind sold incredibly cheap SIM cards and credit for prepaid phones. Which was good, because it gave people something to do while sitting in traffic along those countries’ many terrible roads, or while waiting for the power to come back on.

I fear the circumstances Ethan Zuckerman lists when it comes to African cell phone growth may be difficult to duplicate. “Users financed a great deal of the infrastructure behind the mobile phone boom,” he writes, and I think that this is an important point. Part of the investment (purchasing the phones) was a result of the phones’ utility, yes, but I think for many people there’s also another factor: the connotations a cellular phone has in terms of status, the statement about fashion and technology it makes, etc.

Zuckerman also writes that “Sheer government incompetence helped the mobile industry by ensuring that most phone buyers weren’t replacing land lines with mobiles, but purchasing their first phones.” Which is likely true in general in the African context, but I’m not so sure about Tanzania and Kenya. I thought I remember reading or hearing something about the Tanzanian government directly helping the mobile industry by investing in its development. If I recall correctly, this investment also benefited Kenya, because when Tanzania looked to upgrade its cell network, the old equipment was sold to operators in Kenya. This is why my phone wouldn’t work in Kenya but did in Tanzania: the older equipment in Kenya used a frequency my phone didn’t support.

firstborn men have, on average, an IQ that is about 2.3 points higher than those who are second-born. The trend continues such that second born men have higher IQs than their third-born brothers, and so on.

the second-born son is 33 percent more likely than the first to be gay, and the third is 33 percent more likely than the second, and so on

So as I start to think about my upcoming research trip, I’ve also begun to wonder whether there’s anything I want to see in the UK during my layover of yet-to-be-determined length. Last time I was in London I did the tourist-thing on the cheap, spending most of my time out-of-doors and taking in the sights that way. Didn’t go in any churches, only went in one museum: you get the idea.

One thing I did get to see in this way is a site I recommend to anyone who might be into stamps, blue plaques, and/or world’s firsts: the spot where the General Letter Office stood from 1653-1666, in which the first postmarks in the world were struck in 1661.

Wanderlust-stricken philatelists might also travel to Malindi, in Kenya, in order to visit the German Postal Museum there. Malindi is, of course, one of a number of East African island destinations. Unlike Mombasa, which outside of Old Town has become quite urban and modern in the last century or so, and Zanzibar, with its tourist-ridden Stone Town, Malindi is supposed to have remained relatively unchanged. Unfortunately, I never made it there, so I can’t confirm or deny it. If I had, I certainly would have visited the museum, although I would have had to do it alone: surprisingly, not everybody is as excited about the history of the German postal service in Africa as I am. So keep that in mind while making your plans.

I did make it to Zanzibar, however, famous for being the home of Queen’s Freddie Mercury. But it just wasn’t the same.

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