In 1897, Sears Roebuck advertised ten-inch-square mirrors for only 50 cents apiece (around $15 in today’s money) and proclaimed: “No house is complete ... was a $2 billion-a-year industry.

Like many in America, Todd Martens grew up with parents who devoted the bulk of their vacation time to Disney’s theme parks. He now understands them as places to make sense of the world rather ...