Category: Culture

Impact Lab > Culture
Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Economy, Food, Green Friendly, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Plant Life

US Missing Out On Agricultural Millions Because The DEA Can’t Distinguish Hemp From Pot

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If this country REALLY wants to get out of debt, legalize hemp!

In case you missed it (and you certainly may have in the midst of other current world affairs) it’s Hemp History Week. The second annual one in fact. I imagine most readers don’t need much convincing that the US ought to legalizeindustrial hemp production–remember, though it’s perfectly legal to important hemp products into the US, it’s illegal under Federal law to grow hemp–so I won’t regale you with all the reasons I think hemp prohibition (alongside marijuana prohibition) is, to be blunt, moronic…

Continue reading… “US Missing Out On Agricultural Millions Because The DEA Can’t Distinguish Hemp From Pot”

Crazy Stuff, Culture, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, Twitter

Bin Laden Announcement Has Highest Sustained Tweet Rate Ever, At 3440 Tweets Per Second

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Twitter has just revised its preliminary measurements of 4,000 tweets per second from last night’s announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death, tweeting out the new measurements below. At the event’s peak (11pm EST) there were 5,106 TPS, beating out Super Bowl 2011 (with 4,064 TPS) but not NYE 2010 (with 6,939 TPS).

The event had the highest sustained rate of tweets ever according to Twitter, reaching 3,000 tweets per second between 10:45 and 2:20am, raking in 38,7 million tweets in 3 hours and 35 minutes. At its peak it averaged 3440 TPS from 10:45pm to 12:30pm EST, at an average of 12,4 million tweets an hour. For comparison, this year’s Super Bowl had sustained 20 minutes at 3,000 TPS.

Continue reading… “Bin Laden Announcement Has Highest Sustained Tweet Rate Ever, At 3440 Tweets Per Second”

Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, New Discoveries

Factory Workers Forced to Pledge Not to Commit Suicide

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No suicide allowed!

Factories making Apple iPhones and iPads forced staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide before they were taken on. At least 14 workers at Apple’s Chinese supplier Foxconn have killed themselves in 16 months.

And more have either survived suicide bids or were stopped from trying at plants in Chengdu and Shenzhen.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, Internet

4 Lessons for Parents in a Constantly Connected World

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Parenting has changed a lot in a short period of time.

Parenting in the age of social media is no easy endeavor.

On the one hand, the web has allowed thousands of parents greater flexibility, either by working in traditional jobs from their home or starting and promoting their own businesses with the help of Facebook and Twitter. No longer needing to “go to work,” parents can be at home and conduct business in their free time, while still being available to their kids.

On the other hand, living “constantly connected” as many of us do can result in less quality time with one’s kids. While parents may physically be in a room, often their attention is elsewhere. In one tragic case, a 13-month old boy died in the bathtub while his mom was distracted playing games on Facebook. While this an extreme case, more parents are continuously pulled away by their ringing phone or the latest posts on Facebook or Twitter, resulting in less attention to their kids.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, Money Talk

How Goldman Sachs Created the Food Crisis

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The word again today is GREED.

Frederick Kaufman’s piece for Foreign Policy examines how the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) is responsible for the increase in food prices.

[T]he boom in new speculative opportunities in global grain, edible oil, and livestock markets has created a vicious cycle. The more the price of food commodities increases, the more money pours into the sector, and the higher prices rise. Indeed, from 2003 to 2008, the volume of index fund speculation increased by 1,900 percent. “What we are experiencing is a demand shock coming from a new category of participant in the commodities futures markets,” hedge fund Michael Masters testified before Congress in the midst of the 2008 food crisis…

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Art, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Humor, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

South Park Scares You Into Reading Apple’s Terms And Conditions

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Do you to agree to Apple’s Terms of Service?

You know the drill … You open iTunes and there’s a popup that asks you to download a new version. You download the newest version and there’s another popup asking you to agree to Apple’s Terms of Service. But it’s over 55-pages long! You scroll to the bottom and hastily click “Agree,” because what’s the worst that can happen right? Right?

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, People Making a Difference

Indian Man Has 305 Country Flag Tattoos to Promote World Peace

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Guinness Rishi displaying his tattoos.

A businessman from Delhi has tattooed 305 flags of different countries on his body to promote amity among nations. Har Prakash, who also likes to call himself Guinness Rishi, hopes to get more flags inked on his body and create a new world record…

Continue reading… “Indian Man Has 305 Country Flag Tattoos to Promote World Peace”

Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, Latest News

Office Chair Racing Championship

More than 50 people participated in Germany’s third annual office chair championships on April 16th, racing each other on a downhill course in the town of Bad Koenig, The contestants were free to adapt their office chairs for race conditions, but were not allowed motors to propel them down the cordoned-off road. Most had mounted inline skater wheels for greater speed…

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Analysis, Business, Culture, Current Events, Historical Perspectives

RIP Typewriters: Last Manufacturer Closes Its Doors

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RIP Typewiter

Joining other discarded technologies of late, including the Flip video camera, Kodachrome, and the humble floppy disk is the typewriter, which will no longer be produced anywhere in the world.

The last company on earth to produce the typewriter — Godrej and Boyce — has shut down its production plant in Mumbai, India, according to reports that, fittingly, are making the rounds via the Internet…

Continue reading… “RIP Typewriters: Last Manufacturer Closes Its Doors”

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