Diversions Archive
Learn to see with your ears
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 02, 2009
We might not have fancy, built-in equipment the way bats and dolphins do, but new research finds humans are perfectly capable of using echolocation. A researcher with the University of Alcalá de Henares in Spain taught a group of students and coworkers to navigate by listening for the echo made by a series of tongue clicks. The trick takes just a few weeks to learn, a researcher says, noting that it could dramatically improve the lives of the blind, as well as aid firemen and others who work in low-visibility environments.
Worming their way to victory
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 01, 2009
Fooling a worm might not seem like much of an accomplishment, but don't tell that to the contestants at the Annual World Worming Championship. Since 1980, contestants have gathered in a U.K. village to coax worms above ground using the vibrations of a metal garden fork. A champion worm-charmer can net hundreds of worms in just 30 minutes.
Preserving a memory after the dancing stops
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 30, 2009
Choreography can't outlive its creator, the way a symphony or a play can, because dance notation is so inexact. Successful dance troupes sometimes carry on with their old routines after their founder's passing, but they change over time and they're never quite as good. How can a company chief hope to maintain a legacy, when their work will slowly degrade over time? In Merce Cunningham's case, the answer is simple enough: take all your best work with you when you go.
Monticello in watercolors
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 29, 2009
Thomas Jefferson wasn't just a president and founding father -- he was an intellectual omnivore, driven by insatiable curiosity and a need to make the most of every moment. In a flowing series of paintings and photographs, Maira Kalman explores Jefferson's home, his passions and his determination "never to be idle."
The secret to one of Michael Jackson's most famous moves
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 26, 2009
Michael Jackson died Thursday. No matter how you feel about the past 15 to 20 years of his life, you have to admit that back in the day, he could really move. Ever wonder how he managed that 45-degree forward lean in the video for "Smooth Criminal"? Dan Nosowitz explains the stagecraft that kept the "King of Pop" from falling on his face like the rest of us.
Sorry, you'll have to speak into my good ear
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 25, 2009
Want a favor from a co-worker? Make sure you get on their good side first. A study by Italian researchers found people are twice as likely to comply with a request made into the right ear as they are on the left. The researchers surmise that the difference lies in which side of the brain handles the request, saying the right ear is connected to the part of the brain dealing with positive emotions.
Hunting the "Loch Ness monster of the Vosges"
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 24, 2009
The French village of Xertigny is on alert after multiple crocodile sightings at a pond. Unable to find the animal, authorities tried using chickens as bait, but met with no success. The mysterious animal prompted great interest, leading a newspaper to create a blog covering the hunt on an hourly basis.
Africa's deserts could light up Europe
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 23, 2009
The Desertec project, a joint venture of 20 top German companies, is collecting investment capital for a solar power plant in North Africa. The project could someday provide Europe with 15% of its energy needs, according to this article.
Snuff makes a comeback
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 22, 2009
Smokers face legal limits and dirty looks wherever they light up and chewing tobacco was never really cool -- but the lure of nicotine remains. For an increasing number of tobacco enthusiasts, the answer is snuff: Granulated tobacco meant to be inhaled via the nose. After falling out of vogue for centuries, the powdered stuff is gaining appeal with a younger set lured by its rituals and connoisseur culture.
10 cocktails everyone should know how to make
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 19, 2009
Start the weekend off right by practicing your bartending skills. Recipes for standards such as manhattans, daiquiris, dry-gin martinis and mai tais make this list of core cocktails, but so do slightly more esoteric numbers like the Ramos gin fizz and the aviation.
Ripley's unbelievable problem
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 18, 2009
The stock market might be down, but the market for freaks and oddities is white-hot, say representatives of Ripley Entertainment. The company notes that rapid expansion of their Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums has left them with a depleted stock of prime attractions, such as the museums' signature shrunken heads. While the recession has motivated some people to sell cherished curiosities, Ripley Vice President Edward Meyer says most of the oddities on offer aren't up to the company's freakishly high standards.
8 brand extensions that bomb
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 17, 2009
Brand diversity is a good thing, right? Sure, except when the new product you're launching is tacky (a Hooters credit card), strays too far outside your core audience (NASCAR romance novels) or is just plain creepy (Gerber baby food for adults). Then there's a product like Cheetos brand lip balm, which manages to be all three at the same time.
Restaurant builds its own buzz
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 16, 2009
Two chefs at the Fairmont Washington, D.C., hotel have brought in some new help to raise their restaurant's profile: 100,000 Italian honeybees. The bees live on the roof of the hotel, pollinate local plants and bring their nectar back to make honey that the chefs will use in distinctive desserts like "honey caviar."
An investment that clucks
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 15, 2009
Vegetable gardens are all well and good, but for families really looking to buck the recession, a backyard chicken coop might be the next logical step. An estimated 150 urban families in Madison, Wis., keep chickens in their backyards. The chicken keepers say the hens are a cost-saver -- with each producing about one egg a day -- and make good pets, even if the neighbors don't always approve.
The plane that never needs to land
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 12, 2009
A pair of European pilots are preparing test flights for an aircraft prototype, that if successful, will lead the way for the first solar-powered plane to circle the globe. If all goes as planned, the prototype's successor will recharge its batteries during the day and use that power to continue flying at night, making it possible to stay in air forever-- or at least until the pilots run out of food.
Friends you can rent
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 11, 2009
For the lonely, the unpopular and the stood-up alike, Tokyo-based Office Agents has a solution. For a fee, the company will provide clients with a fake "friend" for the evening, whether it's a phony secretary, a pretend relative or even a gaggle of faux-guests to make a party seem livelier.
Dawn of the robot penguins
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 10, 2009
German tech firm Festo unveils its latest creation: swimming robotic penguins. The devices mimic the graceful in-water maneuverability of the flightless aquatic fowl while adding in a few extras, like built-in sonar and backward swimming capabilities.
What ticklish apes tell us about ourselves
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 09, 2009
Laughter is older than mankind, according to German scientists, who've determined that the ability to chuckle exists in both man and ape, stretching back to our last common ancestor. The researchers say their discovery sheds new light on laughter's ability to ease social bonding and defuse conflicts.
Not your father's taco cart
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 08, 2009
Buying lunch out of the back of a trailer doesn't exactly scream haute cuisine, but low-overhead lunch trucks are helping fancy restaurants across the country make ends meet during a downturn. One secret: Social media campaigns that let a devoted clientele know when and where the trucks will appear.
Forget Coke vs. Pepsi. It's coke vs. soda vs. pop
SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 05, 2009
The preferred term for a nonalcoholic carbonated beverage is a highly regional thing -- as anyone who's ever ordered a pop in the Deep South can tell you. The boundary lines for proper nomenclature aren't always clear, but Michael Long has launched a Twitter-based study to find out.
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