Mother's Day Proclamation
Mother's Day is not a Hallmark holiday. It was a call to peace by women who lost their sons in the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe rallied support for the first Mother’s Day gathering in Boston in 1870 to proclaim that since men were in the midst of madness and war, women should unite to, "promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, and th... posted on May 11 2005, 1,340 reads

Noble Housing
What is the secret to motivating the homeless to get off the streets? A University of California Berkeley Professor believes the answer is in homeless housing, shelters, and assistance centers that are well designed, beautiful and convey the qualities of a sanctuary. Providing the homeless noble spaces inspires them to start the journey toward a healthier life and ultimately saves society money. ... posted on Feb 25 2005, 1,690 reads

Unscathed Buddha Statues
Legs folded, smiling serenely, several Buddha statues of cement and plaster sit unscathed amid collapsed brick walls and other tsunami debris. The window panes of the glass case surrounding the statue shattered, but the foundation held firm in the torrent of water that killed thousands in the area, and nearly 30,000 throughout Sri Lanka.... posted on Jan 22 2005, 1,606 reads

Burning Incense
Going to church may be good for the soul, but some Dutch researchers say it may not be so healthy for the lungs. The candles and incense regularly burned during religious services emit high levels of particulate matter, tiny airborne flecks that are considered one of the most harmful forms of air pollution, according to a new study by scientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.... posted on Jan 07 2005, 1,311 reads

Staple-less Stapler!
If a stapler doesn’t use staples, should it be called a stapless? Or maybe an unstaple? Nonetheless, stapleless staplers are quickly becoming the inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and innovative alternatives to paper clips and staplers. Instead of using bent pieces of metal to secure paper, a stapleless stapler cuts tiny flaps, bends them, and weaves them back through a notch to bind pages... posted on Jan 04 2005, 1,890 reads

World's Oldest Musical Instrument
He is better known for his hunting skills, but now it appears that ice age man did not merely chase prey - he was also fond of music. German archaeologists revealed yesterday that they had discovered one of the world's oldest musical instruments, a 35,000-year-old flute carved from the tusk of a now-extinct woolly mammoth. ... posted on Dec 25 2004, 2,597 reads

Stress and Aging
Scientists have identified the first direct link between stress and aging, a finding that could explain why intense, long-term emotional strain can make people get sick and grow old before their time.... posted on Dec 21 2004, 1,526 reads

Rough Guide For a Better World
Although global population has risen by two billion in just thirty years and many hundreds of millions remain poor, their numbers are falling. The number of children who die before their fifth birthday, for example, halved between 1960 and 2001. The number of adults who cannot read or write fell from 53% in 1970 to 27 percent in 2001, while today twice as many people now have access to basic san... posted on Dec 02 2004, 1,251 reads

Cognitive Overload
Richard Levy has a plan that's part technology, part caffeine, part rolled-up-sleeves simplicity: take a data Sabbath one day a week. The University of Washington professor says that technology tools have made our lives simpler but have also stirred up deep unease. The need for speed is shrinking our attention spans, prompting our search for answers to take the mile-wide-but-inch-deep route and s... posted on Dec 01 2004, 1,417 reads

Culture Endures Economics
Modernization theorists from Karl Marx to Daniel Bell have argued that economic development brings pervasive cultural changes. But others, from Max Weber to Samuel Huntington, have claimed that cultural values are an enduring and autonomous influence on society. Ronald Inglehart and World Values group tested out the theories, using 75% of the world's population. Their results? Well, economic de... posted on Nov 20 2004, 1,417 reads