That Which Satisfies
Pause a moment and think: What's the most satisfying event that you have experienced in the last month? Psychologist Kennon Sheldon and his colleagues put that question to samples of university students. Then they asked the students to rate the extent to which 10 different needs were met by the satisfying event. The three emotional needs that most strongly accompanied that satisfaction -- self-es... posted on Nov 06 2004, 1,572 reads

Five Year Old Without Pain
Ashlyn Blocker's parents and kindergarten teachers all describe her the same way: fearless. So they nervously watch her plunge full-tilt into a childhood deprived of natural alarms. Ashlyn, age 5, is among a tiny number of people in the world known to have congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or CIPA -- a rare genetic disorder that makes her unable to feel pain.... posted on Nov 03 2004, 1,315 reads

Touching the Void
In 1988, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called 'Touching the Void', a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. It got good reviews but was soon forgotten. Then, a decade later, a strange thing happened. Jon Krakauer wrote 'Into Thin Air', another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy, which became a publishing sensation. Suddenly 'Touching the Void' starte... posted on Nov 02 2004, 1,358 reads

Powered By Vegetable Oil
Paying more than $2.50 a gallon for diesel? Not if you're cruising in Jonathan Pratt's turbocharged Ford F-250 pickup. Instead of the gas station, he heads to his own free fuel source: Umami Cafe in Croton! A kitchen worker appears, carrying a giant jug of vegetable oil once used for frying that's ironically labeled, "Do not reuse." After some quick processing, Pratt pours the oil right into th... posted on Oct 28 2004, 1,184 reads

Transparency International
Finland once again topped the list of transparent, non-corrupt countries, with New Zealand, Denmark and Iceland close behind. A total of 106 out of 146 countries scored less than 5 against a clean score of 10, according to the new index, published today by Transparency International. UK was 11th on the list, with US in 17th, China in 71st, and India at 90th. Every year, TI estimates, the world ... posted on Oct 22 2004, 966 reads

'V' Formation
Everyone has seen it but not many understood why birds fly in a "V" formation, perfectly coordinated through the twists and turns. It turns out that a flock of geese can fly 70 percent farther when they file together. The aerodynamic V shape reduces the air resistance, allowing the geese to cover longer distances; scientists have now also learned that the heart rates of the birds are lower when ... posted on Sep 25 2004, 1,276 reads

Cost of War
What is the running total of the amount of money spent to finance the war in Iraq? Find out.... posted on Sep 22 2004, 1,989 reads

Progress
How much is that extra gas costing you? Scott Burns calculates trading in a 18 miles-per-gallon turbo Beetle for the 45 mpg Prius would save you 500 gallons a year. At $2 a gallon, that's $1,000 a year. To get the same return on investment from a CD you would need to invest $35,000.... posted on Sep 10 2004, 1,124 reads

World's Largest Pink Ribbon
The pink ribbon means something different for everyone. For one it might be a memory of one lost to breast cancer. For another it might be a symbol of what the future could bring. For yet another, it could mean survival. No matter what it represents to each individual, it brings hope to the thousands of people who are affected by breast cancer every year. 3M is making the world's largest pink ribb... posted on Aug 28 2004, 1,073 reads

DotComGuy
Even DotComGuy went DotBust. DotComGuy, the man who spent the year 2000 inside his home in Dallas while a video camera streamed his every move across the Internet, is no more. He's changed his name back to Mitch Maddox.... posted on Aug 27 2004, 1,832 reads