Diversions Archive
Young entrepreneur moves in with AOL to save money
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 29, 2012
Eric Simons spent two months living at AOL's campus in Palo Alto, Calif., to save money and focus on building his education-focused startup. Simons started using the building as a guest. When he discovered his entry badge still worked, he stuck around, working late and sleeping on a couch.
New Delhi grows weary of all the monkeying around
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 25, 2012
India's capital, New Delhi, is increasingly home to more than its notorious bands of monkeys as urbanization and wildlife collide. Wild boar, mongoose, snakes and cattle also are competing for space with the monkeys, which are seen as living representatives of the Hindu god Hanuman, and fed Tuesdays and Saturdays in accordance with Hindu tradition. "They bring whole cars full of food and feed the monkeys. They do not give a care about the hungry children on the street, but will feed the monkeys," said the city's wildlife warden, D.M. Shukla. "They get what even human beings in India don't get."
MLS coach recalls kick-about with Colombian drug lord
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 24, 2012
Two decades ago, Oscar Pareja, a Colombian soccer star who now coaches the Colorado Rapids MLS team, got an offer he couldn't refuse -- to play soccer with Pablo Escobar. It would have been suicidal to refuse the invitation, so Pareja and his teammates arranged to play the notoriously bloodthirsty drug lord and his bodyguards at Escobar's luxurious private prison. The pros won, but were careful to keep the score close to avoid offending or humiliating their opponent.
Is it definetly neccesary to spell correctly?
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 23, 2012
Spell check and autocorrect functions have left many adults unable to independently spell words such as "definitely" and "necessary," according to a survey by British charity Mencap. Unfortunately, three in four Britons surveyed felt they were good at spelling.
Scientists seek signs of "cosmic fender bender"
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 22, 2012
Scientists are seeking ripples in the radiation left over from the Big Bang in the hope of detecting patterns that would suggest our universe once collided with another, entirely separate universe. That would suggest that our universe is just one of countless universes, each with its own set of fundamental physical laws.
Lamborghini crash is world's "most embarrassing" wreck
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 21, 2012
A man in Wheeling, Ill., used his phone to record a video of a Lamborghini Gallardo revving its engine at a stoplight and was rewarded with footage of the $225,000 supercar veering out of control and crunching between two vehicles in another lane. The embarrassing video became a YouTube sensation, attracting millions of viewers in a matter of days. "Sure, he wrecked his expensive car. But the damage to his ego is probably priceless," writes Nick Carbone.
The science of playing Battleship
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 18, 2012
A former Microsoft analyst has developed a strategy for winning at Battleship, the children's game in which two players take potshots at boats plotted on a grid. Rather than picking targets at random, it's best to target every other square on the grid and to use probabilistic methods to focus your attacks.
Latin lessons from 1673
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 17, 2012
A blogger has stumbled upon a bilingual Latin primer from 1673 that contains moral lessons for children. One tale deals with a boy who accidentally buys a knife that had been stolen from his friend, and describes their efforts to resolve the dispute peacefully. "Of such beginnings oft-times great heart-burnings arise even amongst grown men," the text notes.
The Chinese flap over high-stakes pigeon racing
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 16, 2012
Horse racing is banned in mainland China, so sporting types have embraced pigeon racing as the next best thing. Pedigree birds can change hands for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some racers have been accused of doping their pigeons with steroids or arranging for favored birds to be given a head start by race organizers. "It's not corruption, it's just the market is chaotic," says one aficionado.
Indian workers rely on round-the-clock childcare
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 15, 2012
India's rapidly growing professional classes have the option of long-term, round-the-clock facilities to look after their children. One New Delhi nursery promises "a 'home from home' environment" and lets parents leave their children for up to a year while they take business trips or attend to other urgent matters. "[N]ot everyone has the luxury of being at home with their children," the facility's website notes.
Want more willpower? Get a chocolate dispenser
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 14, 2012
German psychologists have developed a desktop chocolate dispenser designed to give people more willpower and moral fortitude. The machine dispenses a chocolate onto people's desks roughly once per hour, and keeps track of how many chocolates the user eats and how many the user returns to the machine. "Willpower ... can be strengthened with exercise," explains Drake Bennett. "Each chocolate put back in the machine is like a set of sit-ups for your self-control."
Monks under fire over debauched funeral antics
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 11, 2012
South Korea's largest Buddhist order is embroiled in a national scandal after monks were caught drinking, smoking and playing poker while attending a memorial service for one of their brethren. Monks reportedly bet more than $875,000 during a 13-hour gambling binge, triggering calls for a purge of the group's leaders.
BMW helps keep the Olympic flame burning
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 10, 2012
To keep the Olympic torch burning as it is carried through the English drizzle, organizers turned to BMW's engineering team. Researchers used the automaker's wind tunnels and climate simulators to test the propane- and butane-powered torch in gale-force winds, driving snow and sub-zero temperatures. "The extreme conditions are probably much worse than it will see in a U.K. summer," says project manager Stuart Hawker.
Anyone for Quidditch?
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 09, 2012
The Quidditch World Cup draws thousands of Harry Potter fans to New York City to play a real-world version of the fantastical sport described in J.K. Rowling's books. In the absence of actual flying broomsticks, players straddle regular brooms while sprinting around an egg-shaped pitch, in a surprisingly violent, full-contact version of the fictional sport. "Rugby is dangerous enough when you don't have a broom stuck between your legs," notes one bruised player.
Canada launches digital currency
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 08, 2012
The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a digital currency that it says could prove "better than cash." MintChip is underpinned by the Canadian dollar and can be used for online transactions or transferred between mobile devices to make real-world payments.
Why dictators shouldn't build Death Stars
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 07, 2012
It would cost about $852 quadrillion to build a real-life version of the Death Star -- too steep a price to pay for the ultimate weapon, writes Gregory Koger. Political theory suggests that a "Star Wars"-style emperor would do better to invest in training conventional troops and upgrading his internal security apparatus. "[A] rational dictator could make better use of the resources that would be used to build Death Stars," Koger argues.
Swedes swap lunch meetings for daytime discos
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 04, 2012
A growing number of Swedish office workers are dashing off to daytime raves during their lunch hour. Companies love the "Lunch Beat" discos, saying that employees who spend 60 minutes per day frantically dancing to techno are typically happier and healthier than people who eat lunch while sitting at their desk.
The rise of the body trackers
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 03, 2012
New technology allows people to take greater control of their health by monitoring their bodily functions around the clock. By tracking heart rates, diet habits, sleep patterns and exercise, patients and doctors will have more information to make better decisions about patients' health. "It is absurd that we collect data about everything but our health," said Larry Smarr, director of the California Institute for Telecommunication and Information Technology.
Richard Branson gives flyers a chilling surprise
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 02, 2012
Travelers in Virgin's new Upper Class premium service can relax at a swanky in-flight cocktail bar while sipping drinks poured over ice-cubes shaped like Richard Branson's head. Four designers took six weeks to create a mold based on Branson's cranial measurements, even managing to capture the Virgin founder's trademark beard and toothy grin.
Yodeling isn't just for lonely goatherds
SmartBrief on Leadership | May 01, 2012
A German hairdresser named Doreen Kutze is on a mission to popularize yodeling, the traditional alpine singing technique, and is offering classes to the curious in her pine-cone-strewn salon. Kutze says yodeling sounds great as an accompaniment to jazz, reggae or classical music, even if the warbling yodel itself isn't particularly beautiful. "It sounds a bit like a donkey. It's not a pretty sound," she admits.
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