WikiLeaks could win a Nobel Peace Prize this year.
Other nominees include the European Union, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, Russian rights group Memorial, Afghan rights advocate Sima Samar and the Internet. That’s right — the Internet as a whole has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize…
A lot of valuable information can be gleaned from location-based service Foursquare. Foursquare’s engineers have compiled this list of the cities with the highest percentage of tips containing curse words. So is it rude to say your service was fucking incredible?!
Continue reading… “The Top 20 Rudest Cities According To Foursquare”
World’s loneliest whale.
We’ve heard about whales suffering from loneliness due to overhunting. There’s simply fewer of their species for them to communicate with. But what about a whale who sings at the wrong frequency? One whale, recorded since 1989 and tracked since 1992, sings at a frequency of 51.75 Hz, whereas others of her kind sing at 15 to 25 Hz. She’s lonely because no one else can hear her.
Continue reading… “Loneliest Whale in the World Sings at the Wrong Frequency”
Supatra Sasuphan doesn’t mind being called the “World’s Hairiest Girl.” She and her family even sought the title from Guinness World Records.
The 11-year-old from Bangkok is likely to become a future Guinness star. She has a condition known as hypertrichosis, otherwise known as “Werewolf Syndrome.”
Continue reading… “World’s Hairiest Girl Celebrates Newfound Fame”
Mobile filtering software is limited or non-existent.
Parents who want to prevent their children from accessing pornographic material online normally only worry about traditional PCs, but what’s the use of installing filtering software now that kids can get porn on their phones? Internet-enabled smartphones can access any pornographic website, but mobile filtering software is limited or non-existent. And with the rise of sexting, children can even share their own indecent images.
Continue reading… “Porn Filtering Software for Kids’ Mobile Phones Sends Images to Parents”
These robots can fool shoals of fish into thinking they are their ‘leader’ and have in tests changed the direction the group swims in.
They might look like a child’s toys, but these robotic fish could one day save the lives of thousands of undersea creatures.
Continue reading… “Robotic Fish Could Lead Marine Life Away From Danger”
Barbara Barclay of Tobii Technology, Inc. demonstrates a prototype laptop that tracks and can be controlled by the eye movements.
Ever wish your eyes were lasers? A laptop prototype brings that wish closer to reality. It tracks your gaze and figures out where you’re looking on the screen. That means, among other things, that you can play a game where you burn up incoming asteroids with a laser that hits where you look.
Eye damage caused by a high-powered green laser.
So far, the reports have been scattered and anecdotal. But eye doctors around the world are warning that recent cases of teenagers who suffered eye damage while playing with high-powered green laser pointers are likely to be just the first of many.
Continue reading… “Eye Doctors Warn of Retinal Injuries From High-Powered Green Lasers”
Might it be the United State’s fragile economy? Or maybe, just maybe, a slow awakening to the inherent fallacy in the myth that bright, shiny new products will make us happy? Whatever the root cause, Americans seem to be embracing pre-loved products over virginal, with a new fervour. At least, it seems so for the reuse businesses run by Winmark Corp. who recently announced that their profits had nearly doubled ($10.3 million for 2010), against the previous years trading…
Continue reading… “Profits Double For Business Selling Pre-Loved Products”
Yes, some flowers are simply magical
“Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.” – Yogi Berra
Ormia ochracea is a small parasitic fly best known for its strong sense of directional hearing.
It’s no surprise that many bugs have excellent hearing thanks to finely honed antenna. Checking out the giant antenna on the tiny bug above, it seems no surprise that they can hear surprisingly well. In fact, some insect antennae are so powerful, engineers haven’t yet been able to come close to mimicking nature. And that’s especially when it comes to small, directional antennae. It’s one thing to have whip-like “ears” like the bug above, but what stumps engineers is making very small, but very acute sound sensors. Yet a minute fly — with minute antenna — is about to change that, and help revolutionize how we built these structures.
Continue reading… “Parasitic Fly Could Help Revolutionize Antenna Technology”
A quieter version of the biodegradable SunChips bag.
Frito-Lay hopes to make some big noise with a quieter version of its biodegradable SunChips bag. The company introduced a biodegradable bag for the snacks in April of 2009 with a big marketing effort to play up its environmentally friendly nature as it was made from plants and not plastic and could break down in compost.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.