Are Micro Apartments The Future Of City Living?The vibrant borough of Manhattan in New York City is a big draw for young professionals who want to earn a decent living and enjoy its bustling night life and amazing restaurants. Its popularity is evidenced by the fact that it now boasts over 1.8 million households that have just one or two residents. While great, this has led to a severe shortage of affordable housing given that there are only about a million studio/one bedroom apartments available....
Read news articleEgyptians Celebrate Two-Year Anniversary Of Uprising . . . With More ProtestsIt was exactly two years ago in January 2011, that the people of Egypt finally garnered the courage to stand up against the injustice they had been enduring for 30 years, under the reigning government of President Hosni Mubarak. Within 18 days, the president succumbed to the wishes of his people by resigning and handing over interim power, to the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces....
Read news articleWhy Are Food Throwing Festivals So Popular In Spain?Spain is host to some of the world's most fun and crazy festivals - Events like Pamplona's Running of the Bulls and Castrillo de Murcia's El Colacho or Baby Jumping. But, what the Spanish seem to enjoy the most, is pelting food at each other, the most famous example of which is of course, La Tomatina. However, they have a few others that you have probably never heard of and if you thought throwing tomatoes at people was odd, wait till you read what gets thrown during these two annual celebrations....
Read news articleWho Was . . . . Martin Luther King Jr.?Minister, saint, hero, civil rights activist - These are the words often used to describe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - However, in light of President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration ceremony this morning, the word that seems to fit the bill perfectly, is visionary - The man who had the foresight to see that America could one day transform into a nation where everyone is equal, regardless of race, color or creed. So who was this amazing man that single handedly spearheaded America's civil rights movement?...
Read news articlePresident Barack Obama's 2nd-Term Begins With A Full Plate...
Read news articleWinning At All Costs . . . . . . A Good Strategy?Late last week, Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven consecutive titles (1999-2005) of the world's most grueling bike race - The Tour de France, finally confessed to something many people had suspected for years - The use of performance enhancing steroids during most of his storied career, to get an edge over his competitors....
Read news articleMinecraft As A Mandatory Subject In School? Sweet!Sweden has to be one of the coolest places for a kid to grow up in - First, they introduced the concept of schools with no grades or classrooms, then came Monstrum's amazing playgrounds and now, the coolest idea of all - 'Forcing' 13-year-olds to play Minecraft as part of the classroom curriculum....
Read news articleA Library With No Books? Hmm . . . . .How would you feel if you walked into your local public library and instead of hundreds of shelves laden with all kinds of exciting books, you encountered a modern interior that resembles an Apple store complete with aisles of computers and other electronic gadgets? That, is exactly the vision Nelson Wolff has for BiblioTech, a new kind of public library that is scheduled to open in San Antonio's Bexar County, in fall 2013....
Read news articleComing Soon To A Bookstore Near You - 500 New Fairytales!If you like most of us, have read and perhaps even seen all the old and new reiterations of Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel a zillion times, you are in luck. That's because a cultural curator in Germany has discovered a treasure trove of 500 new fairy tales that have been tucked away in the archives for over 150 years!...
Read news articleBrrr! It's The First Day Of Winter!Well, it's official - The world did not end today! But amongst all the hoopla surrounding the rumored demise, the one significant event that you may have missed is that today also happens to be the first day of winter for people living in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, the opposite is true for those living in the Southern Hemisphere who, are celebrating their first day of summer....
Read news articleDinosaur Era Lizard Gets Named After President ObamaPresident Obama already has bragging rights to a fish (Ethiostoma Obama) and lichen (Caloplaca obamae). Now, he can add one more exotic animal species to this list - A lizard that inhabited the earth 65 million years ago, during the era of the mighty dinosaur....
Read news articleThe Senseless Tragedy At Sandy Hook Elementary SchoolOn the morning of Friday December 14th, Americans watched in horror and disbelief as reports of an unprecedented tragedy began unfolding on the Internet and live television - The senseless killing of 26 innocent people, 20 of them students between the ages of 6 and 7, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut....
Read news articleModern-Day Version Of Noah's Ark Has A Cinema And Restaurant!If you have ever wondered what Noah's Ark, the ginormous boat that saved Noah, his family and two specimens of every animal genus that inhabited the earth may have looked like, you are in luck. That's because a Dutchman has created a life-size replica, with a slight modern day twist!...
Read news article'Origami' House Changes Shapes To Take Advantage Of Different SeasonsSince house designs cannot be changed unless the entire structure is renovated, they are normally built with the worst weather patterns in mind. For example, a house in the Arctic would have thick concrete walls to preserve heat, while the opposite would be true for one built in the desert. This means that while residents are sheltered during severe weather conditions, they are unable to enjoy seasonal changes. Now, two British architects are trying to change this with a revolutionary design that believe it or not, uses a math puzzle that you may all be quite familiar with!...
Read news articleVeteran Astronauts To Test Effects Of Weightlessness On Human Mind And Body By Spending A Year At The ISSThough many astronauts have spent more than 365 days in Space, it has not been in one long stretch, but instead broken up through several missions. That is because scientists are not sure of the long-term effects of weightlessness on both the human body and mind, and therefore restrict stays to a maximum of six months....
Read news articleA Work Of Art Worth Jumping Up And Down 'For' Or Should We Say 'On'?Let's face it - Art shows can get just a tad boring. After all, how many exhibits can you ooh and aah over? Unless of course, you are one of those lucky people that live in South-East Russia and was fortunate enough to visit the Archstoyanie art festival where one of the art installations this year, happened to be 'Fast Track' - The world's longest trampoline!...
Read news articlePong - The Video Game That Started It All, Turns 40!November 29th, was a landmark day for anybody that has ever touched a gaming console - That's because it was on this day, 40 years ago that Pong, the first successful commercial video game was introduced to the world....
Read news article35-mile Laser Rainbow Lights Up New York Skies To Honor Hurricane Sandy VictimsFrom Tuesday November 26th to Thursday November 28th, New York residents were treated to an unusual but glorious sight - A 35-mile rainbow that lit up the cloudy night skies all the way from Manhattan to the hurricane ravaged Brooklyn. The spectacular color spectrum was not a freak act of nature, but a powerful work of art created by German artist Yvette Mattern....
Read news articleLucky British Students Get To Test Super Cool Interactive Desks!For the last three years, a group of lucky 8-10 year olds have been involved in a super-exciting experiment - To see if replacing traditional pencil and paper with hi-tech interactive desks would help improve their math skills! But before we tell you the obvious results of this 'study' let's talk about the more interesting part - The desks....
Read news articleChinese Firm Plans To Build World's Tallest Skyscraper . . . . . In Three Months!For some reason being home to the world's tallest skyscraper seems to be something every country is constantly vying for. Now, China too has joined the fray. However, unlike any of the other contenders it is planning to complete this amazing feat in less time than it takes most countries to design a structure - A mere 90 days!...
Read news articleWhy The World's Longest Word Will Never Appear In Any Dictionary Or Record Book!Search for the term 'world's longest word' and you probably find Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - the scientific name for a lung disease commonly referred to as silicosis. While this is technically true because it is the longest word you will ever see published in a dictionary or for that matter in most places, there are many words that believe it or not, are much longer than that....
Read news articleCobbler And Gobbler Escape Thanksgiving And Trot Off To Retirement!Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the day when over 46 million turkeys will take center stage at dinner tables all over the USA. Missing from this impressive count will be two lucky birds - Cobbler and his even luckier spare Gobbler, who were today pardoned by none other than President Obama! Instead, they will happily cackle away their lives on George Washington's Mt. Vernon Estate in Virginia....
Read news articlePresident Obama's First Order Of Business - Resolving The Looming 'Fiscal Cliff'While thrilled at being given another four years to continue the path he had carved out for the country, President Obama's celebration was short-lived. That's because the day after being re-elected the President had to begin working on resolving what is being called a 'Fiscal Cliff' - So what is this cliff that has everybody in a tizzy and are things going to be as dire for Americans as predicted? Read on . . . ....
Read news articleIt's Diwali, The Festival Of LightsToday, millions of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs all over the world are celebrating Diwali. Also known as Deepavali or the Festival of Lights, it is one of the most eagerly awaited and widely celebrated Indian festivals....
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