Why We Travel
"Every day is a journey," wrote Basho, "and the journey itself is home." If the great Japanese poet hadn't penned that line more than 300 years ago, we might easily attribute it to Pico Iyer, a journalist who writes ostensibly about travel, but is more interested in the humanity it reveals. "Travel doesn't interest me," Iyer says, "except as a handy way to undertake explorations that are fundament... posted on Oct 15, 3674 reads

Same Primitive Elements
Modern humans vary by only 0.2 percent of their genetic material -- and none of those variations correspond with definitions of race. In the stratified world of high school, where cliques often form along racial lines, biotechnology students recently made a startling discovery: More than half of the class at San Jose's Piedmont Hills High School, students from numerous racial and ethnic background... posted on Feb 11, 1007 reads

Keiretsu
As a leading venture capital group, Kleiner Perkins has built over 350 companies including America Online, Amazon, Sun, and Genentech. But they've recently made news for a new investment model they are calling 'Keiretsu': investing in several companies in a similar sector and encouraging them to cooperate instead of compete!... posted on Feb 14, 811 reads

Technology and Honesty
Technology is bringing us closer to the truth, it seems. The first study to compare honesty across a range of communications media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails. The fact that emails are automatically recorded - and can come back to haunt you - appears to be the key to the finding.... posted on Feb 21, 1116 reads

92 Year Old Sikh
A 92 year old Sikh man completed the New York City Marathon, enduring taunts of "Hey, Osama Bin Laden" and "Look at Saddam" along the 26 mile route. Fauja Singh's mission was to educate the public about Sikhism, a religion founded in India in 1500s, that requires its followers to wear a turban. "Sikhs are not a part of any other religion. It is its own religion," said Singh. For all the offens... posted on Jun 3, 894 reads

Wheelchairs For The Third World
Ralf Hotchkiss was paralysed in a motorcycle crash in 1966 when he was a freshman at Oberlin College, Ohio. Within minutes of leaving hospital he was sowing the seeds of his future career - developing and supplying wheelchairs for the Third World. And these countries, he says, have a lot to teach us about the needs of disabled people. ... posted on Mar 20, 886 reads

Spare Some Change?
Ever get in a plane and have non-exchangeable coins in a foreign currency? You need to get rid of them but it's too late. Well, British Airways got the idea of asking folks to donate them to charity; they called the program "Change For Good." Research showed that one out of two folks contributed; ten years later, this program was adopted by various major airlines and has raised over $45 million... posted on May 8, 1809 reads

What Makes People Happy
Psychologists now know what makes people happy. The happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don't care about keeping up with the Joneses next door, lose themselves in daily activities and, most important, forgive easily. ... posted on Apr 3, 3339 reads

Inexhaustible Source
Reflecting on the wisdom of Saint-Exupery. The poet, philosopher and aviator's plane 'disappeared' 60 years ago and was just found April 7, 2004.... posted on Jan 19, 1359 reads

Samaritan Six
Meet Samaritan Six. All six were software engineers in India, who raised millions of rupees for the poor. Except that they had hacked into the ledgers of a large corporation and stolen all the money. Unlike Robinhood, the law caught up them and they all went to jail. But their story doesn't stop there. While in prison, they noticed that the inmates were not receiving minimum food rations, pre... posted on Sep 11, 1306 reads

Subway Philosopher
When one person is kind to many strangers, he's a do-gooder. But what happens when many strangers are kind to one person -- a homeless one who lugs his life in two bulging plastic bags on the subway? Lack of a Bodhi tree anywhere near the Broadway-Lafayette station in New York didn't stop passengers from reaching out to the "subway philosopher" named Tony Butler. Somehow, he always brought arou... posted on Apr 23, 1246 reads

All My Life For Sale
He had too much "stuff" in his life, so John Freyer decided to have a virtual yard sale on the Internet. As he wound up selling everything, he requested the buyers to send him an update on how those objects were used. Amazingly, he'd strike up various conversations with the new owners of his old life and he got over 100 invitations to visit the items he sold. So, he seized the opportunity to tr... posted on Apr 24, 1145 reads

Do Good To Fly Free
If you're flying Song Airline, it pays to be nice. The low-cost carrier is giving away free tickets to passengers who are nice to one another. Stash someone else's bag in the overhead compartment, help a flight assistant, or show some other random act of kindness and you could win one of 5000 roundtrip tickets to anywhere that Song flies. Each flight attendant gets four tickets to give away to an... posted on May 26, 2021 reads

Life Worth Living
Can you run a business with social and economic values? A record-breaking 129 teams from leading business schools across five continents participated in this year's Global Social Venture Competition. Run by Haas School of Business, Columbia Business School, and London Business School, four social venture plans with promise were recently awarded the top prize.... posted on Apr 28, 1580 reads

Richest Man in Town
A trip to McDonald's typically costs him a hundred bucks. He'll search out the janitors and hand over $20 bills. "The woman cleaning the toilet can't speak English, she has nothing, and no one gives her anything," he explains. That's because Tom White is on a mission, to give away his entire fortune before he dies. Instead of "He who dies with the most toys wins", his bumper sticker would read: ... posted on May 5, 1017 reads

Technology Toppling Tyrants
Technology is toppling tyrants. Shah of Iran was overthrown in the later 70s by an IT invention -- the audio cassette tape. In 1989, Chinese students organized one of the largest demonstrations in Beijing, largely using the fax machine. President Joseph Estrada was ousted in 2000, due to cellphone text messaging on the street of Manila. And now, it seems that the next killer app is the digital... posted on May 18, 1294 reads

Mozart Effect
Imagine a pile of sand transformed into life-life flowing patterns, mirroring symmetrical geometric forms found in nature, simply by audible vibration. In 1950s, Dr. Hans Jenny found exactly that in work that later came to be known as Cymatics. He noticed that sound vibrations actually shape matter, in predictable and repeatable patterns, and can indeed be used to change the cells of our bodies.... posted on May 20, 1133 reads

1000 Journals
Someguy. That's the handle he goes by. In August 2000, he started an experiment that you're a part of. 'Someguy' sent out 1000 blank journals into the world. One thousand journals traveling from hand to hand throughout the world. Those who find them will add their stories and drawings, and the pass the journal along in an ongoing collaborative art form. Anyone could write anything they want.... posted on May 22, 1206 reads

Sixty Five and Over
One in three people will be 65 or over by the year 2050, according to a report by the Census Bureau which foresees the world's population growing to more than 9.2 billion. In 1990 the world's women, on average, were giving birth to 3.3 children in their lifetime. By 2002 it had dropped to 2.6 children. AIDS and declining fertility were cited as factors for slower population growth.... posted on Jun 5, 1436 reads

Tigers and Piglets
At Siracha Zoo, in Thai capital Bangkok, they wanted to encourage more visitors. So they decided to teach domestic animals like pigs and wild animals like tigers to live together in harmony, from an early age. Today, they released a photograph of a piglet sleeping on a tiger!... posted on Jul 7, 2141 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, 975 reads

Twinkie Tax
From a recent report by CSPI: Upgrading from a 3-ounce Minibon to a Classic Cinnabon costs only 24% more, yet delivers 123% more calories. Switching from 7-Eleven’s Gulp to a Double Gulp costs 42% more, but provides 300% more calories. It costs 8 cents more to purchase a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese, small French fries, and small Coke (890 calories) than it costs to buy the Quarter... posted on Aug 3, 1347 reads

Cycling For Water
It was in 1998, struggling up a hill on a cycle-rickshaw in deepest Bangladesh, that he knew his next big journey would be on such a machine. He just didn't figure he would have six weeks to prepare for it. In 2001, Jon Denner ventured on 2,088 kilometer trip across India to raise awarness of water and sanitation issues. Along the way, Jon also promoted the use of cycle rickshaw, created his ow... posted on Aug 17, 950 reads

Seven Day Weekend
Richard Semler has built a company that breaks all the rules. He encourages his employees to play hooky. He tells them not to bother with growth plans. Employees choose their own salaries, set their own hours, and have no job titles. Ridiculous? Inefficient? A recipe for chaos? Perhaps. But Semler's company, Semco, has grown from $35 million in revenue to $212 million in the last six years, and e... posted on Aug 19, 2531 reads

Wisdom of Crowds
"How many jellybeans in this jar?" Repeated studies show that a collective guess is often more accurate than any individual. We hold crowds accountable for the stock market bubble, boorish behavior at baseball games and the rise of Britney Spears. But in his new book, 'Wisdom of Crowds', James Surowiecki argues that the combined intelligence and input of a group of people can create optimum con... posted on Aug 25, 1301 reads

Art of Martial Arts
Jet Li wants to touch your soul before he kicks your butt. The Hong Kong action star says too many martial-art movies ignore heart and emotion in favor of vengeance and gore. Li's latest movie, 'Hero', explores what kind of person can become a hero; he hopes it'll put "artist" back into "martial artist."... posted on Aug 31, 1831 reads

PlasTax
A tax on plastic shopping bags in the Republic of Ireland has cut their use by more than 90% and raised millions of euros in revenue, the government says. The environment ministry estimated that about 1.2 billion free plastic bags were being handed out every year in the republic, leaving windblown bags littering Irish streets and the countryside. In the three months after the tax was introduced, s... posted on Sep 1, 1410 reads

Swimming the English Channel
George Brunstad arrived on the French beach of Sangatte just after 0100 BST on Sunday, after 15 hours and 59 minutes in the water. The retired US airline pilot, uncle of Hollywood star Matt Damon, set off from Dover on Saturday morning for the gruelling 21-mile swim and raised $11,000 for children in Haiti. At age 70, he also set the world record for the oldest man to conquer the English Channel... posted on Sep 2, 2410 reads

Season of Life
Friends say Jeffrey Marx has always seemed oddly blessed. In 1985 Mr. Marx was 22 and in his first newspaper job, he heard about strange goings-on in the University of Kentucky basketball program; he wrote articles that exposed cash payoffs to players, and won the Pulitzer Prize for it. In 1997 he plunked down $1 for a chance to heave a basketball down toward a basket 69 feet away. Make the shot,... posted on Sep 14, 1053 reads

If Everyone Cared
This music video by Nickelback lauds several examples of individuals who have stood up to injustice, and won. The examples range from Bob Geldof's Live Aid concerts in 1984 to Nelson Mandela's triumphant release from prison in 1989 and election as South Africa's first democratically elected president.... posted on Oct 13, 3117 reads

Spinach Powered Laptop
"Eat your spinach," Mom used to say. "It will make your muscles grow, power your laptop and recharge your cell phone... " OK. So nobody's Mom said those last two things. But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have used spinach to harness a plant's ability to convert sunlight into energy for the first time, creating a device that may one day power laptops, mobile phon... posted on Oct 2, 1022 reads

The Soup Peddler
They call him the Soup Peddler. He's a riches-to-rags guy who quit his computer programming job to make homemade soup and deliver it by bicycle to his neighbors. Every week, David Ansel makes several hundred quarts of soup, by hand, from fresh ingredients every week. Then he loads the containers onto his custom bicycle trailer and pedals around his Texas neighborhood to deliver them!... posted on Sep 28, 1222 reads

Brilliant 10
A way to repair the failing memories of Alzheimer's patients, a tool in the search for new medicines and special lasers to help fight the war on terrorism are among the quests of young scientists honored by the editors of Popular Science. For the third year, the magazine has compiled its list of the "Brilliant 10" young scientists, all 40 or younger and virtually unknown to the public.... posted on Sep 30, 1492 reads

Four Year Old Artist
She is the hottest abstract artist in New York. After a feature in the local paper, 2000 people showed up for her opening night, everyone from serious collectors to the artist's preschool teacher. Using brushes, spatulas, her fingers and even ketchup bottles, she is creating canvases of six by six foot and earning more money than she could comprehend! Meet Marla Olmstead, age 4.... posted on Oct 6, 1838 reads

Smells Like A Nobel Prize
Her mother used to grumble about her stubborn persistence and "one-track mind" when faced with a problem. In later years, she focused on her lab work with laser-beam intensity, reducing time away to the "one-minute dinner." Linda Buck asked how humans can detect odors for upto 100,000 different chemicals and process this information into perceptions. Not only did she ask the question, she also fo... posted on Oct 7, 1129 reads

Land of Thousand Hills
In 1949, when Rosamond Carr first arrived in Africa, she had no idea that she would spend the rest of her life there. Back then, she was just a young fashion illustrator from New York City, who packed four cotton dresses and a lifetime supply of cold cream to accompany her husband on a trip to Congo. As she journeyed to find herself, Rosamond experienced everything from near-bankruptcy to tribal... posted on Oct 8, 1214 reads

Jack La Lanne, Fit for Life
He's in the gym at 5am and works out for two hours, seven days a week, even if he only gets one or two hours of sleep. He hasn't had a sugary dessert or missed a daily workout since 1930. Jack La Lanne, a pioneer of modern fitness is turning 90 and still aspires to swim the 22 hour distance from Catalina Island to Los Angeles, underwater. ... posted on Dec 9, 1884 reads

Album named 'Smile'
Thirty-eight years ago, Brian Wilson wanted to make an album like no other with what was, at the time, a revolutionary recording technique. Bits and pieces were recorded at different times with different musicians, in different studios, then quilted together. Wilson combined this elaborate "modular music" with the evocative lyrics of Van Dyke Parks and described the project as "a teenage symphony ... posted on Oct 19, 1204 reads

The Surfing Rabbi
Just steps from the sand, Orthodox Rabbi Nachum Shifren parks his beat-up blue 1983 Volvo station wagon with the surf racks and bumper sticker that reads, "Forgive Me Rabbi, For I Have Surfed." Shifren, 53, wears the long, unshorn beard of Hasidic Jews and traditional Orthodox garb with those Ocean Pacific flip-flops on his feet! "You can't be too square. You've got to be a little hip," he remin... posted on Oct 12, 1297 reads

Hot Wheels
It's cute, tiny, and plastic. The kids love it (especially in Europe). It also gets 70 miles per gallon, and you can fit three side by side in a standard parking spot. Move over, Mini: The Smart microcar could be the next big thing on America's roads.... posted on Oct 26, 1513 reads

Young Heroes of 2004
Gina invented a road-paving material from recycled plastic bottles. Ellie ran a web site with copyright-free literature for people learning English as a second language. Kevin placed detectors on school vending machines to regulate their electrical usage. Twelve year old Renee started a battery recycling initiative in her elementary school. Laurel founded an after-school program for disadvanta... posted on Oct 29, 1132 reads

Sydney Peace Prize
"I hate Miss Mitten." At 5, that was her first coherent sentence she ever put on paper. Today, Arundhati Roy is a celebrated author whose books have sold millions worldwide, winner of many awards including the Booker, and a human rights activist. Yesterday, she won the Sydney Peace Prize and she is donating all of her $50,000 prize to three Aboriginal community organizations in Australia!... posted on Nov 4, 1221 reads

Curing Poverty
In 1985, Jeffrey Sachs helped Bolivian government recover from 25,000 percent inflation. A few year later, at 35, he rescued Poland securing his reputation as an economic savior. And now, he's turning his attention to Africa. Sachs believes that Africa, through no fault of its own, is trapped. The economist is calling for $45/person in foreign aid for the next 10 years. As an American, he note... posted on Nov 10, 1075 reads

The Gates of Central Park
While February 2005 may seem like eons away, it is not, at least for Christo and Jeanne-Claude. That is when the artists will finally realize their 24-year-old dream of decorating 23 miles of Central Park's walkways with 7,460 gates, 16 feet tall and topped with translucent saffron-color fabric.... posted on Dec 10, 890 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 1, 1431 reads

Cashing-in Million Dollars
While most folks their age look forward to winding down, a married pair of Chicago chemists decided to cash-in their million dollars of retirement to change the world -- at least Africa, to start with. In reaction to money-motivated pharmaceutical giants and the U.S. refusing to join the United Nations in making AIDS drugs globally available, Paul Lartey and Alexandra Graham have launched a plan ... posted on Jan 8, 1454 reads

Returning a Favor
A Buddhist monk in Canada stunned his congregation by putting his temple up for sale, in a bid to raise half a million dollars for victims of the Asian tsunami tragedy. For the abbot, Thich Nguyen Thao, the pledge is an expression of gratitude to the people of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia who provided them refuge when they fled Vietnam. "They housed and fed us. This is a small gesture to tha... posted on Jan 11, 1121 reads

A Dying Man's Dream Fulfilled
As the daylight hours began to fade, a strange group congregated on St. Paul's West Side. Minstrels with guitars and harps scampered quietly beside maidens with bells on. Cars slowed in wonderment. The sound of a tuning accordion could be faintly heard outside the window of Frank Tunison's home. He didn't have a clue Thursday evening that in minutes, a fantasy would come true. It began when Tuniso... posted on Oct 2, 3774 reads

The Slow Money Movement
What if you were told that one solution to crises such as global warming and the worldwide financial meltdown could be unearthed in the simple act of growing your own food? Nothing drastic; nothing revolutionary. Just a window box for a tomato plant in your kitchen."It's remarkable, but people who grow their own food, who reconnect with the soil, can immediately appreciate the implications of an e... posted on Nov 18, 3149 reads

Meditation and the Brain
Meditation can modify the brain. That's what Richard Davidson's new study shows, further disproving the old notion that our brains don't change in adulthood. With the help of Dalai Lama's eight most accomplished meditators, with 10,000 to 50,000 hours over a period of 15 to 40 years, Davidson's study unambiguously showed that meditation on "unconditional compassion" activated the trained minds o... posted on Jan 20, 1188 reads