Breaking Bread Together
Breaking bread together may well have a positive impact on your health. Nursing home residents who gathered for family-style meals rather than lonely pre-plated ones benefited emotionally and physically, Dutch researchers reported. Those having meals together were able to maintain fine motor skills and body weight much better than those having solo meals. And over six months, they found a relative... posted on May 21, 1696 reads

Temporary Urban PARK(ing)
Feed your parking meter and that space is yours for a certain period of time. While most will park their cars in that public space, a group of activists known as Rebar had a different idea -- convert it into a park! Yes, a park. Last November 16 was the first PARK(ing) project, from noon to 2PM in San Francisco. While 70% of the city's downtown outdoor space is for private vehicles and only a ... posted on May 22, 1812 reads

Double Amputee Scales Everest
47-year-old Mark Inglis was a former mountain rescue guide before he lost both legs to frost bite after being trapped in an ice cave for 14 days. Today he is an honors graduate in human biochemistry, a researcher, silver medal cyclist, a ski instructor, motivational speaker and the first double amputee to have scaled the highest peak in the world! "While it’s a great adventure for me it would be... posted on May 27, 1472 reads

Sons of Lwala
When residents of a tiny Kenyan village sold their chickens and cattle to buy Milton Ochieng's $900 plane ticket to Dartmouth College, they told him they wanted something in return. Eight years later, he's a medical school graduate preparing for his residency. In his home village of Lwala, a clinic he and younger brother Fred established serves about 100 patients a day. A documentary about their s... posted on Oct 7, 3909 reads

Eco-Cities For 400 Million People
Can China move 400 million people to its cities without wreaking environmental havoc? Eco-urban designer William McDonough says yes, that industrial cities could be far more ecologically balanced than they are now if they were designed from the ground up with sustainable principles -- and Beijing is listening. In Huangbaiyu, for instance, McDonough's team is allowed to spend only $3,500 per house.... posted on May 28, 1761 reads

Made With Love Café
It started as a relief project after Hurricane Katrina. But it's still going today -- a volunteer-run kitchen that serves 1500 hot meals a day in New Orleans! "Our meals are free and available to anyone who needs food. We are non-political, non-religious, and hope that by bringing volunteers together from all over we can create a joyful and safe place for residents to begin rebuilding their comm... posted on May 31, 3094 reads

Music of Rosslyn Chapel
For hundreds of years experts and visitors alike have puzzled over the carvings in the Rosslyn chapel. Now, Stuart Mitchell thinks he's cracked part of the code of the ornate ceiling of carved arches, featuring 213 decorated cubes. The breakthrough came when Mitchell's father discovered that the markings matched a pattern that forms when a sustained musical note is used to vibrate a sheet of met... posted on Jun 9, 2560 reads

Mother Teresa's Personal Surgeon
Mother Teresa handpicked him to be her personal surgeon. Today, Dr. Devi Shetty is perhaps the most compassionate, committed and charistmatic thing that has happened to cardiac surgery in the last century. He runs the world's second most productive heart hospital where children under 12 are treated for free and other patients pay whatever they can. Dr. Shetty has delivered high quality cardiac ... posted on Jun 11, 2882 reads

Mass Killer Atones For His Sins
Shyam Narayan Sharma is a bedraggled man noticeable for his garland of old shoes and for wearing sandals and clothes made out of torn jute bags. He has served time in jail after turning himself in for capital crimes. While in jail, Sharma had a personal transformation and "made 600 inmates literate." Upon his release on bail, Dayasagar sold his double-story home to set up a tin shed private sch... posted on Jan 10, 2934 reads

Gates to Become Full-Time Philanthropist
Bill Gates of Microsoft announced that within two years, he plans to transition into full-time work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the organization he founded with his wife, which focuses on global health and education. "I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility - the responsibility to give back to society and make sure those resources are given back in the best possible w... posted on Jun 18, 1612 reads

America’s Best-Selling Poet
Madonna has set translations of his verse to music, Donna Karan uses it as background to her fashion shows and Oliver Stone wants to make a movie on his life. Who is he? Jalalludin Rumi, the mystic-poet born in Central Asia almost eight centuries ago! The man most responsible for Rumi's current popularity in the West is Coleman Barks, a retired professor of English whose translations of Rumi’s ... posted on Jun 20, 2430 reads

The World's Most Courteous City
We hear a lot about how common courtesy is a dying art form. Recently Readers Digest conducted a survey to find out if good manners are indeed going out of style. Contrary to popular belief they found civility was alive and well -- in a place where you’d least expect it: New York City! Survey-takers in major cities across 35 countries used three experiments: "door tests" (would anyone hold one o... posted on Jun 27, 1949 reads

Nascan Archaeological Enigma
In the Pampa Colorada (Red Plain) of the Peruvian Desert, there are huge geometric patterns and spirals, animal figures and thousands of perfectly straight lines that go on for kilometers. These drawings are known as the Nazca lines -- one of the world’s most baffling enigmas of archeology. They were most likely drawn by the Nazca Natives approximately 2,000 years ago! Interestingly though, thes... posted on Jul 2, 2388 reads

When Travel Is The Best Medicine
For years Michael McColly had no bed, no furniture and lived out of a suitcase. When he contracted H.I.V. in 1995 doctors warned him against traveling. But McColly decided to heed his inner voice instead. "Travel has become my antidote: the farther I go the more aware I become of what has kept me alive -- my desire to be in and of the world ... If I had listened to the fears of people I know or re... posted on Jul 6, 1893 reads

Legendary Doctor Passes On
Dr. V(enkataswamy), the legendary eye surgeon from South India, who with his own two hands restored the sight of over 100,000 people, passed away late last week. His work resulted in one of the world's most extraordinary models of service delivery. Thirty years ago, at the age of 58, he started an 11-bed eye clinic in an old temple-city, and with his team, turned Aravind Eye Care System into the l... posted on Jul 10, 2065 reads

The Science of TV Addiction
The term "TV addiction" is imprecise and laden with value judgments, but it captures the essence of a very real phenomenon. On average, individuals in the industrialized world devote three hours a day to the pursuit -- fully half of their leisure time, and more than on any single activity save work and sleep. At this rate, someone who lives to 75 would spend nine years in front of the tube! This S... posted on Jul 14, 2235 reads

A Formula for Beauty
Can beauty be measured? 20th century mathematician George David Birkhoff actually made a life quest of exactly that. Though best known for his work on differential equations and dynamics, he also had a keen interest in aesthetics -- the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, song, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind. Interestingly enough, Birkhoff sought a formula, a mathematical measure... posted on Jul 16, 2520 reads

Turning Water Into Child's Play
The children push the merry-go-round again and again. As they run, a device in the ground beneath them begins to turn. With every rotation of the merry-go-round, water is pumped out of a well, up through a pipe, and into a tank high above the playground. A few feet away from all the fun, students in uniform turn on a tap. Clean, cold drinking water pours out. This is Motshegofadiwa Primary School... posted on Jul 22, 1861 reads

The 'Good' Magazine
Ben Goldhirsh was always broke, even though his father was worth $200 million. But when Bernie Goldhirsh faced brain cancer, he started having his son tag along to all his meetings. One day, Bernie gave $20 million to his employees and made Ben listen to every stunned, grateful voicemail. Then he put most of his son's inheritance in a trust that would pay out in installments over the next few deca... posted on Jul 23, 2336 reads

Dollar a Day Walking Pilgrimage
It isn't easy living on a dollar a day, even when you're trekking through poverty-stricken parts of rural India. Just ask Nipun and Guri Mehta, who held themselves to that budget while taking a walking pilgrimage through the country last year. Six months into their marriage, this Berkeley couple left with a one-way ticket to journey India by foot. Eating wherever food was offered, sleeping wherev... posted on Aug 7, 3226 reads

Homeless World Cup
Imagine a World Cup played only by homeless players. Well, it's happening in Cape Town in less than 2 months! Mel Young, social entrepreneur and co-founder of the Homeless World Cup, says, "It creates a different environment. In Edinburgh last year, homeless people were playing football in the same square in which they'd been begging. They'd been spat at, the police had hassled them -- all we did ... posted on Aug 6, 1743 reads

The Clock of the Long Now
We can often find ourselves living for the moment instead of in it. Prompted by this fast (and getting faster) lifestyle of our world, a handful of key high-tech thinkers from San Francisco recently created the Long Now Foundation to provide a counterpoint to today's "faster/cheaper" mind set and promote "slower/better" thinking. Read this essay by a founding member of Long Now on The Ten Thousa... posted on Aug 13, 3169 reads

How Soccer Explains The World
Female soccer fans in Iran set aside the 'hijab' to celebrate the national team's victory halfway across the globe. Brazilian managers swindle American corporations abroad and exploit their own players at home. Undisciplined soccer stars from Nigeria are sold to Ukrainian teams and forced to adapt to chess-like coaching strategies in the dead of winter. Globalization never seems so vivid as when s... posted on Aug 17, 1490 reads

A Village Goes Online
An Indian village has uploaded itself onto the Internet, giving the outside world a glimpse of life in rural India. Visitors to Hansdehar village's website can see the names, jobs and other details of its 1,753 residents, browse photographs of their shops and read detailed specifications about their drainage and electricity facilities.... posted on Aug 19, 2342 reads

Friedman Prize for Liberty
The former prime minister of Estonia, Mart Larr recently won the 2006 Friedman Prize for Liberty. He says, "I had read only one book on economics -- Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. I was so ignorant at the time that I thought that what Friedman wrote about the benefits of privatization, the flat tax and the abolition of all customs rights, was the result of economic reforms that had been put in... posted on Sep 2, 1302 reads

Strongest Dad in the World
Eighty-five times he's pushed the wheelchair of his disabled son, Rick, in marathons. Eight times in addition to pushing the wheelchair for 26.2 miles he's also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming, and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the same day. When technology allowed Rick to type, he said: "Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anym... posted on Sep 6, 2762 reads

Emotionally Sensitive Computers
Emotionally sensitive computers? The aggression of frustrated computer users towards their machines is a growing and increasingly costly problem. To address this unusual situation, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute are re-examining communication between man and machine, to see if computers can be made to respond to what their users feel. Using devices that track pulse rate, body temperature, ... posted on Sep 17, 1494 reads

The Dangers of Venting Anger
The centuries-old idea that vigorously expressing or 'venting' anger is both helpful and healthy is now being disproved. Recent studies reveal that anger can be more destructive when expressed than when it's suppressed. "Talking out an emotion doesn't reduce it, it rehearses it," says Dr Travis, a social psychologist. Researchers in alignment with her theory say that by venting' rage, you're often... posted on Sep 8, 2454 reads

70 Best-Loved Words
We each have a special relationship to the words we use, and our vocabulary often reflects our way of relating to the world. An intriguing survey conducted by the British Council collected and compiled the top 70 favorite words of the English language. The Council asked more than 7,000 learners in 46 countries what they considered the most beautiful English words. "It's interesting that mother, th... posted on Sep 12, 14928 reads

Why The Brain Needs Breaks
In our fast-paced information-saturated world, what role does down-time really play? Researchers at MIT say that regular breaks in brain activity are key to forming memories. Their fascinating work supports earlier research showing that animals and people learn best when information isn't crammed together. "Perhaps we don't take breaks seriously enough," researcher David Foster says. "Perhaps we'r... posted on Sep 19, 2269 reads

Vitamin C: Cancer Cure?
Is mainstream medical science ignoring an inexpensive, painless, readily available cure for cancer? Mark Levine mulls this loaded question. The government nutrition researcher has published new evidence that suggests vitamin C can work like chemotherapy -- only better. But so far, he hasn't been able to interest cancer experts in conducting the kind of conclusive studies that, one way or the other... posted on Sep 26, 2152 reads

Village Kids Crack Prestigious Exam
A small, derelict training school in one of India's poorest states is helping an amazing number of underprivileged students crack what is arguably one of the world's most competitive exams. Bihar's Ramanujan School of Mathematics is the brainchild of a local maths teacher, Anand Kumar. In its first year, 18 of the school's 30 students cracked the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) en... posted on Sep 28, 2064 reads

Lighting Up the World with LED
While trekking in Nepal in 1997, Dave Irvine-Halliday was struck by the plight of rural villagers having to rely on smelly, dim and dangerous kerosene lanterns to light their homes. Hoping to make a difference, Dr. Irvine-Halliday, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Calgary in Canada, founded the Light Up The World Foundation. The non-profit organization has since helped to... posted on Oct 4, 2113 reads

Serial Hugger Launches Campaign
Juan Mann (pronounced One Man) has started a campaign to spread smiles that has hit international headlines. A music video posted on You Tube shows Juan on the streets of Sydney wearing a sign that says "Free Hugs". While the response from passer-bys was wonderfully varied and heartwarming, the act itself stirred some controversy in the city. "Free Hugs" was banned until a signature petition overr... posted on Oct 2, 2141 reads

Biking a Million Miles for a Cause
Born with an oxygen deficiency to his brain, Freddie Hoffman entered the world with certain challenges most of us will never face. But he went on to overcome his disability one pedal push at a time. Inspired by watching astronauts land on the moon, Hoffman realized at a young age that his limitations would keep him from becoming an astronaut, in the literal sense. So he decided to ride the distanc... posted on Oct 5, 1756 reads

The Spiritual Power of a Mayor
It’s August 1999. Cory Booker is a fed-up, 30-year-old City of Newark (New Jersey, USA) Council member, thwarted at every attempt at much-needed reform. After a particularly violent crime at a particularly drug-ravaged high-rise apartment complex, Booker decides it is time for drastic measures. He buys a tent, pitches it next to the complex and goes on a hunger strike. For 10 days, he fasts and ... posted on Oct 6, 2315 reads

Disabled Cyclist Inspires Ghana
In Ghana, West Africa, babies born with disabilities are routinely poisoned or left to die alone; those who survive face a lifetime of begging on the streets. Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, however, had a different plan: born with a malformed right leg, he shined shoes for $2 a day and refused to accept his country's superstitious shunning of the disabled. On a bicycle supplied by the California-based Cha... posted on Oct 15, 1527 reads

The Economics of Trust
It takes trust to loan someone money, and today, as that quality deserts the credit markets that depend on it, Debbie Findling finds it alive and well at her corner market. This short audio segment provides a beautiful reflection on people connecting with people, trust, and optimism in the midst of the financial sector's current turmoil.... posted on Oct 9, 3818 reads

Banker to the Poor Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Muhammad Yunus, famously known as the Banker to the Poor, is this year's Nobel Peace Laureate. The Bangladeshi economist and the revolutionary bank he founded will share the prize. The Grameen Bank provides credit to "the poorest of the poor" in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. It has 6.6 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women, and provides services in more than 70,000 villages i... posted on Oct 14, 2059 reads

7-year-old Cancer Patient Pays it Forward
Right before 7-year-old Ben Cote was diagnosed with cancer, his dog Polly began sleeping by his side instead of her usual place in his parents room. When the cancer came back, again it was Polly who picked up on the first signs. Ben lost his right eye to the cancer, and is undergoing chemotherapy, but he still managed to find the energy to raise money for a local animal shelter. In his words, Poll... posted on Oct 21, 2581 reads

A Video Game That Teaches Economics
Students taking Economics 201 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro don't come to class -- they just log in to the Internet. The entire microeconomics course is a video game that students play online to earn three college credits. Such sophisticated tools for learning could transform the face of education as we know it. "This is a game in which the students are literally immersed in a ... posted on Oct 23, 2207 reads

Two Sides of the Same Border
Last year, three friends came up with a unique idea to portray realities along the US-Mexico border. They gave hundreds of disposable cameras to two groups of people on different 'sides': the undocumented migrants attempting to cross over, and the American minutemen assigned to stop them. The Border Film Project was started by a Rhodes scholar, a filmmaker, and a Wall Street analyst, to bring a hu... posted on Oct 27, 1937 reads

Stumbling On Happiness
Dan Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard, and author of Stumbling on Happiness. In his book, Gilbert skillfully and humorously explores the challenges we humans have in understanding what will make us happy. Gilbert maintains that in trying to imagine the future we make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagi... posted on Nov 13, 3386 reads

Creativity in the Daily Commute
Where do people do their most creative thinking? The most popular response: in the car! Last year’s Lemelson-MIT Invention Index survey focused on the locations and conditions that best promote fresh thinking. Program Director Merton Flemings notes, "Many Americans feel they spend half their lives in cars, but we were surprised by just how many people felt their daily commute was conducive to cr... posted on Nov 16, 2664 reads

Kansas City's Secret Santa
For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's bee... posted on Nov 19, 3652 reads

New York's Free School
One recent day at the Brooklyn Free School, the "schedule" included the following: filming horror movies, chess, debate and making caves for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not that the students had to go to any of these sessions. At this school, students don't get grades, don't have homework, don't take tests, and don't even have to go to class -- unless they want to. "Free schools," which had th... posted on Nov 25, 1335 reads

Teen Amputee Dances Her Dream
It was just a tiny misstep during a dance class routine. But it was enough to cause Nathalie Calderon’s right foot to spin backward 180 degrees. "My teacher nearly fainted," said Nathalie. But the determined Central Florida girl just asked for a screwdriver — and with a few twists, her foot was again righted. Nathalie, who was born without the lower part of a tibia in her right leg, wears a pr... posted on Nov 28, 1967 reads

Volunteerism Encouraged: a New Business Trend
A new and perhaps counter-intuitive trend in the business world? An increasing number of US companies are actually encouraging employees to volunteer their time. Some have even set up special departments to coordinate volunteer work and are hiring "volunteer coordinators" or "directors of community relations." Employees who choose to take part in such programs are given time off in exchange. Tim R... posted on Dec 6, 2575 reads

A Rocket Scientist's Odyssey of Good
47-year old Jim Fruchterman, a 2006 MacArthur "Genius" is a rocket scientist turned social entrepreneur. His idea: Take existing technology and transform it into products for those with disabilities or other disadvantages. Fructerman’s early work involved the production of a reading machine for the blind using optical character recognition. His non-profit, Benentech, created Bookshare.org -- th... posted on Dec 12, 2037 reads

Time's Person Of The Year: You!
Time Magazine's person of the year 2006 is : You! In acknowledgment of the unprecedented scale of community and collaboration created by web users across the world, Time has made the public recipient of its annual award. Today, countless online initiatives ranging from Wikipedia, and YouTube to MySpace are powerfully bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them m... posted on Dec 17, 3159 reads