Matt Drudge
The No. 1 source of referral traffic to major news sites in the United States is Google. Google provides approximately 30% of the traffic to these sites.
Continue reading… “Matt Drudge – Most Powerful Man on the Web”
Daniel Kish Uses Sound To See
If you had no eyes to see with, how would you navigate your surroundings?
Daniel Kish had both eyes removed at the age of 13 months after being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer. He didn’t let that slow him down. Though blind he can mountain bike, navigate the wilderness alone and recognize a building as far away as 1,000 feet. Kish is president of a nonprofit organization called. World Access offers training on how to interact with one’s environment, using echolocation as a primary tool. Kish hears echos and interprets their meaning to visualize objects, similar to the way bats, beluga whales and dolphins ”see” objects…
Continue reading… “Daniel Kish Uses Sound To See”
Vote for Google Science Fair Semi-Finalists
The Google Science Fair has reached the semi-finals stage. Now is your chance to vote!
I’m really excited about the way this particular science fair is set up. It’s open to teenagers all over the world, and happens online so that “open to teenagers all over the world” really does mean just that. And entries could come from a wide range of scientific disciplines—everything from math to food science. Most of the finalists are still kids from the USA, but there’s also some representation from the UK, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and South Africa…
Continue reading… “Vote for Google Science Fair Semi-Finalists”
Pandora Is Now 10 Billion Thumbs Strong
Thumbs are important to Pandora’s listeners.
Personalized radio service Pandora has reached a major milestone: last week it recorded its 10 billionth thumb (and it was a thumbs up).
Avid fans of the popular service already know what that means — for the rest of you, Pandora lets users mark the song that’s currently playing with a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down. The effect is pretty straightforward: hit a thumbs up and Pandora will try to play more music that sounds like the song you’re listening to, thumbs down and Pandora will immediately jump to the next song and send a minor electric shock to CTO Tom Conrad…
Continue reading… “Pandora Is Now 10 Billion Thumbs Strong”
Indian Man Has 305 Country Flag Tattoos to Promote World Peace
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”
The Grand Experiment – Micro Agronomy
Futurist Thomas Frey: On Sunday, April 17th I had the privilege of being the opening speaker at the TEDx event at the University of Chicago. The lineup of speakers was quite impressive and I felt honored to be presenting on the same stage with them.
Continue reading… “The Grand Experiment – Micro Agronomy”
Active Twitter Users Have Shorter Relationships
OkTrends has an intriguing post about sex compiled from the data from the bazillion interaction data of members of the OkCupid dating site, but this one is particularly intriguing: active Twitter users have shorter relationships…
Continue reading… “Active Twitter Users Have Shorter Relationships”
Sunless Farming of the Future
Plants only need a specific wavelength to grow, not the full spectrum of the sun.
If we were to prevent a Malthusian catastrophe, we’d better figure out a way to boost crop yield to keep feeding the planet’s growing population. Gertjan Meeuws and other bioengineers of PlantLab have found an answer: a greenhouse where every aspect of the growing condition is controlled, where climate (or even the Sun) is not a factor at all…
Continue reading… “Sunless Farming of the Future”
Test Subjects With Electrode Implants Use Mind Control To Move A Cursor
What kind of future technology will come from this breakthrough?
As trippy as mind-control still seems to us, we’ve already seen it implemented in everything from wheelchairs to pricey gaming (and car driving!) headsets. But the problem is that they measure brain activity outside the skull — you know, the thing we’ve evolved to shield the murky goings-on in our minds from prying EEG sensors.
Now, though, a team of Washington University researchers appears to have happened upon a more effective — albeit, invasive — approach…
Continue reading… “Test Subjects With Electrode Implants Use Mind Control To Move A Cursor”
Italian Man Invents ‘Kangaroo Tail for Humans’
Emanuele Lopopolo shows off his invention.
Emanuele Lopopolo of Italy has invented a portable backrest that allows its wearer to take a break from standing by leaning back onto a telescopic pole…
Continue reading… “Italian Man Invents ‘Kangaroo Tail for Humans’”
Sir Richard Branson’s Deep-Sea Submarine to Explore Ocean’s Unknown Depths
Exploring the unknowns of the ocean.
Our ocean, particularly deep ocean, is one of the least explored places on earth. We know just a fraction of what plants and animals live under the waves, and barely understand the complexity of ocean ecosystems. One part of this is because we haven’t spent as much time designing and building the sophisticated tools required for diving into the deepest parts of the sea as we have building space ships. That needs to change, and Sir Richard Branson wants to be a leading figure in that change. He has unveiled the Virgin Oceanic submarine, capable of diving into even the Mariana Trench. But this will be just one of five incredible trenches the submarine is set to explore…
Continue reading… “Sir Richard Branson’s Deep-Sea Submarine to Explore Ocean’s Unknown Depths”
World’s First Cell Phone Call
Martin Cooper with first cell phone.
On April 3rd, 1973, 38 years ago, Martin Cooper made a phone call while walking down the street in New York City. At the time, he was the general manager of the company’s communications division. He had promoted the idea that phone numbers shouldn’t be tethered to a place, but to people. And they should be able to take their phones with them, anywhere they went.
When Martin Cooper made that first cell phone call, he did not make it to another cell phone. People didn’t have them yet — who could he call?
