Every week at TED’s New York office, one media team staffer shares a handful of things on the web that intrigued, shocked or amused them. We call this session: Previously on the Internet. Here are this week’s finds, from me, Thu-Huong Ha, TED’s editorial projects specialist. A tale of two very different empires The Ottoman Empire […]
With just two weeks to go before the 2012 presidential election in the US, eyes around the world are on the contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. As shown in last night’s debate, the election may well come down to a few key issues. So what matters most to Americans? The TED Blog read this […]
[ted id=1597 width=560 height=315] A plate of food overrun by roaches. A blood-encrusted scab. The squish of dog poo under one’s shoe. In this talk from TEDxEast, David Pizarro explains that each of these images elicits disgust, a visceral emotion that serves a good purpose — to keep us away from harmful substances. But disgust may […]
Just two Tuesdays from today, Americans will head to the polls and vote for their President. But why is Tuesday the anointed day? In this hilarious TED-Ed talk, Jacob Soboroff shares that Tuesday was made the official voting day in 1845 because, back then, voters traveled to the county seat by horse and buggy. They […]
[ted id=1593 width=560 height=315] Pankaj Ghemawat coined a new phrase in his talk from TEDGlobal: “globaloney.” In other words, Ghemawat takes issue with the idea that national borders are eroding and that we are all just living in “one world.” It’s a notion Ghemawat says was first floated in the 1850s by David Livingston, the Scottish […]
Last Sunday, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a helium balloon from over 24 miles in the sky, and shattered world records by freefalling from an altitude of 128,100 feet to Earth. With the jump, Baumgartner became the first human to break the sound barrier, reaching an astonishing peak speed of 833 mph and […]
Political economist, author and educator Sophal Ear’s family escaped from the Killing Fields, a story he related in a moving 2009 TEDTalk. Now, driven to give back to Cambodia, he examines the detrimental effects of foreign aid dependence in his new book, Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy. Tell us about how […]
[ted id=1594 width=560 height=315] The British Parliament elected in 2005 has an unfortunate nickname — the “Rotten Parliament.” Journalist Heather Brooke had a lot to do with the uncovering of their rottenness. In 2004, just a few years after the passage of the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, Brooke began requesting documentation on members of […]
With just three weeks to go before the 2012 presidential election in the US, eyes around the world are on the contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. As shown in last night’s debate, the election may well come down to a few key issues. So what matters most to Americans? The TED Blog read this […]
[ted id=1587 width=560 height=315] Few scientific papers are written in crayon and begin with the words, “Once upon a time.” But then again, few scientific papers are written by a group of 8- to 10-year-olds. In this adorable talk from TEDGlobal, neuroscientist, artist and educator Beau Lotto shares why he thinks children have an edge […]
The answer to this clue from last night’s Jeopardy? Who are ‘introverts,’ of course. The TED staff was excited to see Susan Cain, who gave the blockbuster talk “The power of introverts” at TED2012, name-checked in an episode of the classic game show.
Artist JR’s Inside Out Project has dispersed more than 100,000 stunning black-and-white posters all over the world, intended for groups to paste in their communities to draw attention to social injustice. Today, JR awoke to witness this amazing project, from a group at Les Bosquets in Montfermeil, a suburb of Paris. As JR explains on […]
In today’s thrilling TED-Ed lesson, Bill Nye the Science Guy admits that he has S.O.D., otherwise known as Sundial Obsessive Disorder. But there is a good reason for it — a sundial helped Nye’s father escape from a prison camp in China during World War II, launching a lifelong obsession that Nye eventually picked up […]
[ted id=1585 width=560 height=315] In the late 1800s, Cuban physician Carlos Finlay had a theory that yellow fever was spread by mosquitos — rather than by dirty clothing, as was the belief of the day. To test his theory, he asked living, breathing human beings to be voluntarily infected with the disease. It was devastating, […]
. Navigating around big cities is rarely easy. Subway systems are generally crowded and unreliable, taxis are often expensive and prone to gridlock and bike lanes remain underdeveloped in too many urban areas. But Sara Cantor and George Aye, the founders of Chicago’s Greater Good Studio, have an idea to make getting around their city […]
Good design isn’t just about making a great-looking colander. Good design can actually improve our lives, both individually and collectively. In the new Autodesk Gallery exhibit “Public Interest Design: Products, Places & Processes,” curators Courtney E. Martin and John Cary showcase 12 projects that were designed with the common good in mind. Of the four […]