Unusual For Good
From WikiForGood
Shewee 'bout time we got a little help for women who want or need to pee standing up!
Macro-Sea is a unique development company that works on some unique projects including dumpster pools. The Macro Sea Mobile Pools project is better known by its "street" name and is becoming more common in the boroughs of NYC. As described in this NY Times article (19 July 2009) dumpsters are converted into swimming pools for public use; an amazing use of underused space and materials being repurposed into something wonderful.
Thrifty Fun provides valuable information to help people save money, save time and solve problems. It is an interactive Web site where you can post questions and contribute answers to others who are trying to have fun while saving money.
Save Energy While Searching Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search and save energy because the screen is predominantly black.
Hookworms can prevent asthma (29. September 2009) A study conducted in Vietnam has added further weight to the view that parasitic gut worms, such as hookworm, could help in the prevention and treatment of asthma and other allergies. Led by Dr Carsten Flohr, a Clinical Scientist from The University of Nottingham, and Dr Luc Nguyen Tuyen from the Khanh Hoa Provincial Health Service in central Vietnam, the study is the largest double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial to date looking at the potential links between hookworm and other gut worm infections and allergic conditions such as asthma and eczema.
Cocaine Dealers Stuff Frozen Sharks with Cocaine (Jun 17, 2009) (This one is for "bad" rather than for good.)
Possibilian Neurologist David Eagleman created a new religion (of sorts) after after his friend Robbie Parrish came up with the term Possibilian while sitting on a balcony looking out over the ocean. Possibilians are kind of like agnostics only rather than just being unsure about the existence of man with a beard in the clouds, they celebrate the possibilities of what they don't understand.
Bamboo Bikes... top of the line bike frames made with bamboo! (June 18, 2007) And possibly useful for developing countries where they might be able to be built without power tools. Via the LA Times.
Eco Elvis is alive and well in Kansas City, Missouri. He’s recycled a dozen of his favorite songs to address environmental issues and performs for audiences of all ages. His alter ego, Matt Riggs, talks with Living On Earth radio host host Bruce Gellerman at the link above.
Slugging "Slugging is a term used to describe a unique form of commuting found in the Washington, DC area sometimes referred to as "Instant Carpooling" or "Casual Carpooling". It's unique because people commuting into the city stop to pickup other passengers even though they are total strangers! However, slugging is a very organized system with its own set of rules, proper etiquette, and specific pickup and drop-off locations. It has thousands of vehicles at its disposal, moves thousands of commuters daily, and the best part, it’s FREE!"
Hot Swedes Use Body Heat to Heat Train Station (01/13/08) We’re excited to announce that plans are now afoot to take the heat energy generated by the movement of human beings and use it to heat a train station in Sweden.
Earth Hour It's lights out for one hour around the globe at the end of March to help spread the word about global warming. Hmmm. What will everyone do for one hour in the dark?
Walking From Kennedy Airport to Manhattan... By Mr. Self’s usual standards, the walk from Kennedy to Manhattan, about 20 miles, is a mere stroll (December 6, 2006). What recommended it was that it would take him through parts of the city that most people never notice while driving in a car: an experience that Mr. Self, a student of psycho-geography, believes has imposed a “windscreen-based virtuality” on travel, cutting us off from experiencing our own topography. “People don’t know where they are anymore,“ he said, adding: “In the post-industrial age, this is the only form of real exploration left. Anyone can go and see the Ituri pygmy, but how many people have walked all the way from the airport to the city?”
Canine Americans lauded by Humane Society (September 12, 2006).
Helping Save Prickly Victims of Development NYTimes Article: "It takes 60 or 80 years for a saguaro to grow an arm," Dr. Pergam said of another rescued baby cactus. "So I've saved a life, in essence." (April 14, 2006)
'Right to dry laws' protect your right to use a clothes line to dry your drawers outside (August 24, 2007).
Sniffer rats to find African mines from the BBC (Monday, 4 August 2003). "Cheap, intelligent and, crucially, lightweight, rats are being trained in Tanzania to sniff out landmines and explosives."
Fun quote from Qur'an (I think): God could have made you one people, but he did not. He made you many so you could compete in performing good works.
