Diversions Archive
Northern disclosure
SmartBrief on Leadership | Sep 05, 2008
A public-art project called the Telemegaphone allows callers anywhere in the world to phone in and shout their message from a mountaintop in Norway. Maybe you'd like a good rant, or to declare your love or to ask if anyone has seen your lost wallet. Call soon. The big voice falls silent Saturday for the start of deer season.
Sweet find at an Israeli dig
SmartBrief on Leadership | Sep 04, 2008
Beekeepers of the world, be proud. Archaeologists in northern Israel have now extended your lineage back to the Iron Age. Researchers estimate that the 3,000-year-old apiary they found contained as many as 200 beehives and had a potential annual yield of more than 1,000 pounds of honey. The ancients used honey as a sweetener and a salve. The wax was valuable, too, in part because it was used to cast bronze.
The search for Sarah Palin in bikini
SmartBrief on Leadership | Sep 03, 2008
Americans revved their Internet search engines after Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday. In just two days, the number of U.S. Internet searches for "Sarah Palin" soared higher than any other politico in the last three years. But look at the most common search terms in conjunction with her name: "Vogue Magazine," "Photos," and "Beauty Pageant." Other common searches included "Sarah Palin Bikini Photos" and "Sarah Palin Naked." We're sure the search hunt for pictures of Sen. Joe Biden in swimwear is just as intense.
A killer on the lam for 251 million years
SmartBrief on Leadership | Sep 02, 2008
It was the greatest mass murder ever and the culprits have eluded positive identification for 251 million years. Back then, 95% of marine species perished, as did most land creatures. Now, scientists think they're close to finding the killers. It all started, they think, with an explosion of molten lava in Siberia.
Baby-leaping: Spanish town sticks to exorcise program
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 29, 2008
Running of the bulls? Ho-hum. The town of Castrillo de Murcia unleashes yellow-suited "devils" and black-clad drummers to torment the populace once a year. The festival culminates with the men in devil costumes leaping over babies -- set on mattresses in the road -- to rid them of demons. They've been at it since 1620.
Neanderthal: The slopehead was no dummy
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 28, 2008
Neanderthals have borne our scorn for too long. New research shows their stone technology was just as effective as what we Homo sapiens employed back in the day. It's a crushing blow to the theory that Neanderthals died out due to inferior intellect. "When we think of Neanderthals," says the lead researcher, "we need to stop thinking in terms of 'stupid' or 'less advanced' and more in terms of 'different.'"
Obamapolitan on ba-racks: Cocktails for the party faithful
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 27, 2008
Bars and restaurants in Denver are making the most of the Democratic National Convention with politically themed cocktails. Muddled blueberries are the key ingredient in the Blue 'Bama, and it's served "on ba-racks." Maybe you'd prefer a Blue State of Mind or an Obamapolitan.
Wanderlust: From Magellan to Kerouac
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 26, 2008
Never enough time for adventure? Live vicariously. This interactive feature traces the routes of the world's greatest travelers: Cook, Pizzaro, Livingstone, Earhart ...
Obama and Pepsi: Mere coincidence?
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 25, 2008
Is Barack Obama wrapping himself in Pepsi's banner? His logo is similar to the Pepsi symbol, he drinks Pepsi's brand of bottled water and Pepsi employees have given him six times as much money as Coke workers have. Yet for Obama's big speech, the Democratic convention will move from Denver's Pepsi Center into Invesco's Mile High Stadium. "Accepting the nomination in a football stadium named after a wealth management firm ... now that's the choice of a new generation," says pundit James Ledbetter.
Unusual athletic tape hits a spike
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 22, 2008
Viewers of Olympic beach volleyball last week were intrigued by the spiderweb of black bands affixed to the shoulder of U.S. champion Kerri Walsh. What the heck was that? Kinesio, it turns out, a new type of athletic tape that reportedly relieves pain and promotes healing of injured muscles. The company gave 50,000 rolls of the tape to 58 countries before the games. It was a smart marketing move: Its Web traffic surged from 600 to 345,000 views a day.
NPR's VP scorecard
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 21, 2008
Even though we vote based on the presidential candidate rather than the VP, we are consumed with how geography, electoral votes, economic and foreign policy experience -- and even height -- might affect this year's veep selection. For context, Ken Rudin compiled a scorecard of the pluses and minuses of historical running mates since LBJ tapped Hubert Humphrey in 1964.
The tattoos of these Olympic Games
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 20, 2008
Olympic athletes are wearing their country's colors but also showing off their individual emblems. Take a peek at the tattoos on Michael Phelps and other Olympians in this slide show.
Outfoxing the paparazzi
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 19, 2008
The developers of a luxury condo tower on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard have found a new marketing device to appeal to celebs and wealthy wannabes: It claims to be paparazzi-proof.
Schlepping off to college, with house
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 18, 2008
Yale graduate student Elizabeth Turnbull was dismayed at the cost of renting a house in New Haven, so she's bringing her own.
Has Bart gained paranormal control over Europe?
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 15, 2008
A humongous dog-poop sculpture blows away from a Swiss museum and takes out a power line. A meticulously altered one-euro coin turns up in Spain with the image of Homer Simpson where King Juan Carlos should be. We're not making this up.
They sing the body electric, in vivid color
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 14, 2008
Masters of bodypainting gathered in Mainz, Germany, to sponge, brush and blow paint onto models, some of whom had to stand still for 14 hours. All those hours, all that brilliance -- down the drain with the next shower.
Shanghai's mammoth Mini-Me
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 13, 2008
China's most populated city keeps a scale model of the metropolis, circa 2020. The city sprawls and so does the model, across more than 1,000 square feet.
Themed restaurants, taken to extremes
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 12, 2008
A cannibal-themed restaurant in Tokyo serves dough-clad "bodies" wheeled in on hospital gurneys. In Beirut, you can drop by Buns & Guns, where the cooks wear camo and helicopters provide the music track. Don't look for your waiter at Pitch Black in Beijing. He's got night-vision goggles to find you.
The Edwards affair: Lessons in managing scandal
SmartBrief on Leadership | Aug 11, 2008
John Edwards displayed three classic scandal-management tactics in his big mea culpa last week, says the blogger known as Jack Flack. Was it humiliating? Sure, but look what happened when Credit Suisse managing director Steven Rattner opted for the discrete approach.
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