Refusing an Award
Making an enemy of the Daily Mail is a little like putting your head in a lion's mouth. But Hari Kunzru, one of Britain's most promising young novelists, did just that when he refused an award because of the papers' consistent "hostility towards black and Asian British people."... posted on Dec 11, 1651 reads

Computers on Farms
A large number of farmers in rural India are breathing a little bit easier these days. For 3 or 4 decades, they have been locked into a government-organized trading scheme that nearly ensures they get fleeced by the middlemen when they sell their grains at auction. But in just a couple of years, with the help of a few thousand computers hooked up to the internet, more than a million farmers have... posted on Dec 13, 865 reads

End of Polio
We're about the see the end of polio, only the second time an entire disease is eradicated from the planet! The crippling virus, at its peak, paralyzed or killed about half a million people every year before development of new vaccine in 1955. As a result of one of the largest health initiatives in the world, we are 99% polio-free and by 2005, it is estimated the disease will be fully eradicated.... posted on Dec 12, 1082 reads

First-Class Upgrade
When the first soldier boarded the plane, the man asked, "Hey, soldier, where are you sitting?" When the soldier replied that he was sitting in seat 22E, the first-class passenger said, "No, you're sitting here," and he gave him his seat. As others soldiers, returning from Iraq on American Airline Flight 866, boarded the plane, other first-class passengers gave up their seats until soldiers fille... posted on Jul 30, 1313 reads

Pigeons Beat the Internet
Pigeons are apparently faster than the Internet. In October, Nick Andreef began a commercial operation -- using homing pigeons to deliver photographs. His Waitomo Adventures company runs various tours through a network of caves; he wanted to have digital photographs ready before the tourist bus returned, so they didn't have to spend time downloading and printing. Internet was too slow, but pigeo... posted on Jan 7, 835 reads

Chapter A Day
Suzanne Beecher's employees, stay-at-home moms, didn't have enough time to read, so she did something simple: "One night in the daily company e-mail, I started typing in the beginning of a book that I was reading. I stopped after about a 5-minute read and said that I would continue the book in tomorrow's e-mail." Pretty soon, they were all reading. Four years later, Suzanne is running an organiz... posted on Jan 22, 1118 reads

Giver and Receiver
... posted on Jul 5, 824 reads

Too Many Choices
Too many choices actually leaves us with nothing but confusion. Research shows that as the number of flavors of jam or varieties of chocolate available to shoppers is increased, the likelihood that they will leave the store without buying either jam or chocolate goes up. According to their 2000 study at Stanford and Columbia, shoppers are 10 times more likely to buy jam when six varieties are on ... posted on Jan 28, 1548 reads

Being Nonviolence
United Nations has declared a global season of nonviolence -- sixty four days between Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi's death anniversary.... posted on Feb 5, 877 reads

Little Things Go Far
For a man who has perhaps done more than anyone to help people out of poverty, Muhammad Yunus makes no apologies for giving nothing to beggars. Yunus, 63, is the founder of Grameen Bank, which has made more than $4 billion in tiny loans to poor Bangladeshis, providing a lifeline for millions and a banking model that has been copied in more than 100 nations from the United States to Uganda.... posted on Feb 13, 1094 reads

Wheelchair as a Weapon
Bus number 86B, Frankstown, didn't pick up Donald Stancile because the bus's handicapped ramp malfunctioned and the driver wasn't trained in operating it manually. So Donald took the bus hostage by blocking it with his wheelchair. Arrested for his act of civil disobedience, Donald later said, "Ninety-eight percent of the people who ride the bus can get on the bus. The other 2 percent are like me... posted on Feb 18, 924 reads

Wish upon a Star
If anyone's ever promised you the sun, the moon and the stars, tell 'em you'll settle for BPM 37093. Astronomers have discovered that the heart of this burned-out star with the no-nonsense name is a sparkling diamond that weighs a staggering 10 billion trillion trillion carats. That's one followed by 34 zeros. This hunk of celestial bling is an estimated 2,500 miles across!... posted on Feb 27, 1126 reads

The Embryo
Some class science projects get out of hand. That is certainly the case with a do-it-yourself supercomputing graduate course at the University of San Francisco. John Witchel's idea of building a volunteer super computer on the fly is now turning into reality -- 1200 volunteers will bring their computers to a Gym and plug it into a high-speed network! "We're trying to democratize supercomputing,"... posted on Feb 26, 1299 reads

No-Flush Urinals
United States has approximately 8 million urinals, with about 100 million people using over 160 billion gallons of water each year! And along came no-flush, waterless urinals, that uses a simple design to save tens of thousands of gallons of water every year.... posted on Jun 10, 1861 reads

Secret of the Ancients
No one really knows how the ancients moved the 30-foot blocks of stone, at StoneHenge, without any steel cables, cranes or supports. But now, Wallace Wallington is out to prove to us that it's simple. "Beyond simple," he says. Single handedly, with some simple wooden levers, he is himself able to move nearly 10 tons! For a documentary aired on Discovery, he raised a 16-foot, rectangular, conc... posted on Apr 2, 1329 reads

Lovely Poem
The world's computers consume 2.5 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy in a year, or $250 billion in hard, cold cash a year. Furthermore, a pound of coal is needed to create, package, store, and move 2 megabytes of data.... posted on Mar 4, 828 reads

Acupuncture
Researchers know that acupuncture works but they can't figure out why. Recent research at Harvard Medical school provides the clearest explanation to date for how the ancient technique might relieve pain and treat addictions: Acupuncture on pain-relief points cuts blood flow to key areas of the brain within seconds, quieting down key regions of the brain.... posted on Mar 6, 1263 reads

Karma Army
Karma Army. That's what he called his accidental group. After posting an ad in the paper to "join me", Danny Wallace had 4000 passport photos of possible members but no purpose. Then his mission hit him -- acts of kindness. Every member has to sign The Good Fridays Agreement where you agree to carry out a random act of kindness for a complete stranger, each and every Friday!... posted on Mar 18, 2806 reads

Unknown Nobel Laureate
Of the three living American Nobel Peace Prize laureates, one is almost unknown and yet he is responsible for saving millions of lives. Norman E. Borlaug won the Nobel in 1970 for the "green revolution" -- using high yield crops to grow more grain, for more people on only marginally more land. Not only did he save entire countries from famines, he also saved millions of square miles of wildlife f... posted on Mar 27, 1222 reads

I am Only a Child
When she was 12, Severn Cullis-Suzuki and three Vancouver schoolmates raised money to go to the Rio Earth Summit. Her speech to delegates had such an impact that she became a frequent invitee to U.N. conferences. Now 22, with a B.S. in biology from Yale University, she will be in Johannesburg as a member of Kofi Annan's World Summit advisory panel.... posted on Mar 31, 1736 reads

Modern-Day Robin Hood
When she graduated from Harvard in 1985, she wanted to do something meaningful. Now, Laura Scher is something of a modern-day Robin Hood, an entrepreneurial activist who redistributes the wealth of the marketplace to those in need. Instead of advertising, her company -- Working Assets -- donates that money to nonprofits, relying on socially responsible consumers to help them gain market share. ... posted on Apr 1, 2429 reads

Same Dough, Different Oven
One in every three people in the world will live in slums within 30 years unless governments control unprecedented urban growth, according to a UN report. The largest study ever made of global urban conditions has found that 940 million people - almost one-sixth of the world's population - already live in squalid, unhealthy areas, mostly without water, sanitation, public services or legal security... posted on Apr 20, 1334 reads

State of the Planet
Last month, scientists from around the world gathered at Columbia University for the 'State of the Planet 04' conference, subtitled "Mobilizing the Sciences to Fight Global Poverty." Working sessions covered issues of energy, food, water, and health. To conclude the conference, they came up with a joint, consensus statement of specific recommendations for sustainable development of the planet.... posted on Apr 10, 1102 reads

On the highway of Life
When they learned how AAA, the roadside assistance service, spent much of their muscle lobbying against public transportation, two entrepeneurs took a bold step and started their own environmentally-friendly service.... posted on Jul 3, 986 reads

Your Wish Is Its Command
Your wish is its command. For years, futurists have dreamed of machines that can read minds, then act on instructions as they are thought. Now, human trials are set to begin on a brain-computer interface involving implants. Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial in which four-square-millimeter chips will be placed beneath the skulls of paralyzed patients. If successful, the ... posted on Apr 21, 1120 reads

World's Oldest Worker
The world's oldest worker is calling it quits. Ray Crist, a retired scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project, put down his pointer Tuesday at age 104. Does that mean he’s calling it quits? No way. "When you have a mission, you go after it," said Crist, "And I am still going after it."... posted on Apr 16, 1037 reads

Capitalism to Clean the Sky
Investing in the future of the Earth may seem like a hokey slogan for an environmental organization, but for the 49 students in Lynne Lewis' environmental economics class at Bates College, it's a requirement. Last month, students at the Lewiston, Maine, college bid on -- and won -- the rights to pollute the environment with nine tons of sulfur dioxide at an auction sponsored by the Environmental ... posted on May 7, 1163 reads

Marathon Monks
No Nikes, no Air Jordans, no medical aid stations along the route. They run it on straw sandals. On route they make about 250 stops to pray and to chant. The "marathon monks" of Mount Hiei run a full marathon every day for more than six months, culminating with 100 days of 2 back-to-back Olympic marathons daily. Practically all known long distance running records are shattered by these Japenese... posted on May 13, 1337 reads

Lemonade Stories
Behind every billionaire is a ... mom. That's what Mary Mazzio found as she interviewed billionaires around the world for her new film -- "Lemonade Stories". The study of entrepreneurship might be all the rage in business schools but Mary suggests that b-school is too late. The nursery is where the seeds are planted, generally by moms. Incidentally, women led 28% of all U.S. businesses in 2002, ... posted on May 14, 1652 reads

Decade of Dot-Orgs
The 1990s will be billed as a dot-com decade. But considering the worldwide explosion of social organizations that far exceeded the growth of technology firms, it probably should be known as the decade of the dot-orgs. In Canada, registered citizen groups grew more than 50% since 1987, to over 200,000, while in France, close to 70,000 new groups were registered each year in the 1990s. Twenty ye... posted on May 15, 951 reads

Paint Your Roofs
Paint your roofs white, use lighter color pavements and plant more trees. Those are suggestions by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, in response to cities becoming "heat islands" (hotter than its surrounding environments). Since one sixth of the electricity consumed in the United States goes to cool buildings, at an annual power cost of $40 billion, people are starting to listen to old technology a... posted on Jun 2, 1057 reads

Lottery Vs. Work
Lottery winners, trust-fund babies and others who get their money without working for it do not get as much satisfaction from their cash as those who earn it, a study of the pleasure center in people's brains suggests. Emory University researchers also noted that "there's substantial evidence that people who win the lottery are not happier a year after they win the lottery."... posted on May 28, 2533 reads

Video Game Kills Cancel Cells
Nine year old Ben played video games during his lengthy leukemia treatments. After 3.5 years, Ben won his battle but he wanted to help other kids win theirs. So he thought of designing a video game where players kill cancer cells. With the help of Make-A-Wish and Eric Johnston of Lucas Arts, that dream is now a reality. Enter Ben's Game.... posted on May 19, 962 reads

Reading a Smile
Think you're good at reading people? Most people feel they are, but actually fail miserably at it, confusing a half smile with approval when it signals contempt, or accepting an expression of apparent confidence while missing the concealed fear that lies beneath it. Misreading facial expressions and the emotions underlying them is a result of our inability to recognize minute expressions -- micro... posted on Jun 1, 1446 reads

Dave's Pay-It-Forward Gas Station
Five years ago, Dave lived at the Dignity Village homeless camp in north Portland. Last week, he was buying gas for customers at a local gas station. Dave, who requested that his last name not be printed, said he couldn't have overcome the challenges he faced without the kindness of others. He's hoping his generosity will encourage others to "pay it forward," echoing his good deeds. "I wouldn't be... posted on Oct 24, 4831 reads

Minimum Vacation Law
In Germany, the lowest-rung factory worker gets 30 days' paid vacation on average (or 24 days by law.) In France the norm is five to six weeks. Australians get 30 days paid vacation by law and take 25 days on average. Yet these countries maintain high rates of productivity.... posted on Jun 26, 1348 reads

When Life Gives You Lemons...
Eight-year-old Alexandra Scott, in a battle against malignant tumors, wants to raise $1 million for cancer research. And it looks like she just might do it, one lemonade stand at a time.
... posted on Jun 16, 1193 reads

Collective Intelligence
Is there a future potential seeking to emerge that depends on YOU? Yes, says this MIT researcher, C. Otto Scharmer. He's coined the term "presencing" -- a combination of the words "presence" and "sensing" -- to describe the remarkable experience of bringing the future into the present. Scharmer believes that our collective capacity to "presence" could activate the full potential of our species in ... posted on Jun 18, 1239 reads

Natural Capitalism
In 1991, eight people entered a sealed, glass-enclosed, 3-acre living system, where they expected to remain alive and healthy for two years. Of the original 25 small animal species in Biosphere II, 19 became extinct by the end. After 17 months, the humans showed signs of oxygen starvation from living at the equivalent of an altitude of 17,500 feet. Bottom line -- $200 million could not maintain ... posted on Jun 19, 1515 reads

Participant Productions
Everybody dreams of being in the movies. Jeff Skoll dreams of making them. The former eBay president, now a billionaire, is starting a company that will fund "socially relevant, commercially viable" feature films along the lines of 'Gandhi' or 'Erin Brockovich.' Skoll's Participant Productions plans to make six movies every year - budgeted at $20 million each -- with a mission to change the worl... posted on Jun 24, 1036 reads

Indian Spider Man
Spider-man is going global. The Indian version of this comic book superhero -- complete with loincloth, Hindu demons and battle scenes over the Taj Mahal -- is set to be released by Gotham Comics. In what critics are calling "reverse globalisation", Spider-man will become the first western comic book superhero to be re-invented fully - as opposed to translated - for a local audience.... posted on Jun 25, 1438 reads

A Child Poet
Mattie Stepanek, the child poet whose inspirational verse made him a best-selling writer and a prominent voice for muscular dystrophy sufferers, died Tuesday of a rare form of the disease. He was 13. In his short life, the tireless Stepanek wrote five volumes of poetry that sold millions of copies. Three of the volumes reached the New York Times' best-seller list. Former President Jimmy Carter j... posted on Jul 1, 1315 reads

Concern for Chickens
When Kentucky Fried Chicken, an international fast food chain, announced plans to open up a restaurant in Tibet, the Dalai Lama wrote them a letter and said that mass slaughter of chickens violated Tibet's traditional values. KFC's parent company, Yum Brands, says it has called off its plans.... posted on Jul 2, 1534 reads

The Magic Number
Looking for happiness through financial success? Wondering what is the magic number that equals satisfaction? It's $40,000 a year. Really. Oprah's magazine says so. And so does Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, who studies such things. Maybe you're thinking there's another magic threshold. Like maybe $40 million. But Penlope Trunk doesn't think so. When she ran in circles of venture capitalist... posted on Aug 13, 1463 reads

Children Under Five
A whopping four million children under the age of five die annually in South Asia, where at least 432 million earn less than $1 a day, says the latest UNDP report. On the bright side, South Asia has halved income poverty and the proportion of people without access to safe water, while dramatically reducing infant mortality rates as well.... posted on Aug 11, 1299 reads

Woman's Internet
The internet is beginning to have a revolutionary effect on the 700 million people who live in villages in India - and the charge is being led by women. 80% of the new Internet kiosks are run by women, many of whom have had very little or no acquaintance with technology before. ... posted on Jul 9, 1451 reads

An Open Sewer
Told that he had less than four months to live, the disabled Vietnam Veteran didn't know where to turn. He wandered down to an open sewer -- a stream behind his house that was plugged up with garbage -- to contemplate his future. Still recovering from bullet wounds, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, three heart attacks, and a serious motorcycle accident, John Beale found the answer:... posted on Jul 27, 1085 reads

Theory and Practice
... posted on Aug 1, 432 reads

No Smoking, For A Parrot
A British couple booked themselves into a clinic to quit smoking after the vet said it was the only way to save their beloved sick parrot. Kevin Barclay and Sharon Wood gave up a 50-cigarette-a-day habit to save their Amazon orange-winged parrot J.J., in Essex, southeastern England.... posted on Aug 14, 931 reads

Speaker and Listener
... posted on Sep 12, 1129 reads