Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays.

“Which was the style at the time…”

Webbed toes help them swim more efficiently. As more and more furniture moved indoors, the shape of the legs and feet evolved to the drier climate. You can still find modern pieces where the look has been replicated, but the webbing tends to be decorative in nature, not functional.

Agreed, but the author is not highlighting the lack of public spaces in general, but specifically a lack of public spaces where there isn’t an expectation to spend money.

In my experience, the expectation to spend is greater at indoor spaces than outdoor, so with this distinction, I agree with the author. If taken as originally written, I would think the number of outdoor public spaces far outweigh the number of libraries in any community, but YMMV.

I would imagine the author is referring to indoor public spaces, to which I wholeheartedly agree.