Sometimes the world needs a user’s manual – so we’re writing it.
by Molly Edmonds
December 1st, 2009
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It’s Dec. 1, and that means it’s World AIDS Day. Celebrated every year since 1988, when it was established by the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are a few things that everyone can do to observe the day: get the facts, get tested and get involved. Let’s go through these actions one by one.
November 30, 2009
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I don’t need to tell anyone who lived through Black Friday that Christmas is rapidly heading our way. This weekend, I overheard many children asking for a certain toy, only to be told that they’d have to ask Santa for the item. So how does a child go about doing so? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never trusted the North Pole workers who sit in malls. Yes, I know that Santa sent them, and they are his trusted emissaries, but I’d prefer my wants and desires to go straight to the big man himself.
That’s why I like to communicate in writing with Santa Claus. I figure my good penmanship and polite letter will help Santa remember that I belong on the “nice” list, not the “naughty” one.
November 24, 2009
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The bar code patent celebrated its 57th birthday this year. According to the Telegraph, a couple of Drexel grad students came up with the bar code as a novel way to uniformly encode product information on goods. Initially, Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver envisioned the bar code as a series of concentric circles rather than parallel lines, but in 1974 a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum began the first item sold with the coding style we recognize today.
It isn’t too difficult to read a bar code to see what numbers those black and white lines represent. For the common Code 39 bar code, Wired’s how-to guide recommends following the decoding method devised by crackerjack student Jonathan Washington. After testing out the method myself, I can attest to its simplicity.
November 18, 2009
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Pardon me if this post seems premature, but thanks to my dear sister/model of Supermomdom, holiday shopping is already on my mind. Earlier this week, she cheerily told me that she plans to have all – yes, all – of her holiday gifts purchased by Sunday.
Hearing that immediately summoned flashbacks from last-minute shopping fiascos of yore, set to the soundtrack of “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime.” But the thing is, while my sis might seem crazy to go holiday shopping before we’ve stuffed ourselves with Thanksgiving turkey, she’s going to be the one laughing all the way to the bank. Wal-mart, for instance, just announced that it’s offering super savings for the Saturday before Thanksgiving to lure thrifty shoppers. Sears has been offering “holiday” doorbuster sales since the first Saturday of November.
November 17, 2009
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Get ready for a bombshell revelation, blog readers: I love hot dogs. You can quote me on that. If you serve me hot dogs, I will be your friend for life; bonus points if you offer up my favorite toppings, which are chili, mustard and lots of onions. Apparently I lived in Coney Island or Michigan in a previous life — I say that because chili, mustard and onions generally made up a Coney Island hot dog, though that Coney Island style was originally made in Michigan. And that’s a hot dog fun fact for you.
November 16, 2009
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Last week, I wrote about the concept of “dysrationalia,” or the divide between general intelligence and razor-sharp applied thinking that makes someone truly smart. Reading about IQ testing and other types of standardized testing got me thinking about Mensa, the club for geniuses founded in 1946. I was curious about how you go about getting your foot in the door, since the organization only allows the brightest of the bright into its inner sanctum.
As it turns out, Mensa is surprisingly easy to join — as long as you have a knack for test taking.
November 12, 2009
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Just because someone has a sky-high IQ doesn’t necessarily mean that person is “smart,” at least according to a recent article in the New Scientist. The article author (as distinguished from yours truly, so please direct your political commentary elsewhere) uses President George W. Bush as the example of someone who is, inarguably, an intelligent person, with a reported IQ above 120. But when it comes to smarts, as in analytical thinking, problem-solving and the like, many faulted Bush for falling short. Writing for Scientific American, Keith Stanovich a psychologist at the University of Toronto calls that disconnect between intelligence and smarts, “dysrationalia.”
Stanovich, along with some other cognitive psychologists and researchers, thinks IQ testing is long overdue for a makeover since it doesn’t address types of critical thinking skills that make someone honest-to-goodness smart.
November 11, 2009
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They’re celebrating a big anniversary this week on Sesame Street — the children’s show marked 40 years on the air. Most discussions about the tremendous impact of “Sesame Street” include a mention of how the show’s writers handled the death of Mr. Hooper in 1983. When actor Will Lee, who portrayed the friendly shopkeeper in the neighborhood, died, the producers decided to have the character die as well. The writers consulted with psychologists who told them to take a direct approach with the young viewers, and producers chose to air the episode during the Thanksgiving holidays, so that families could watch it together.
November 10, 2009
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The HowStuffWorks vending machine is small treasure trove of such delicacies as TGI Friday’s potato skins, Chex mix and a revolving variety of Doritos. When I’m in desperate need of a mid-afternoon snack, I usually spring for the salted peanuts, telling myself that they’re a marginally healthy option. Suffice to say, I try to avoid the calorie-laden temptations.
After looking at foodie designer Emilie Baltz’s collection of office junk food “gourmet” recipes posted on Core77, I might have to give the snack machine another go, however.
November 9, 2009
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I find myself reaching for the lip balm more and more these days. No surprise — it’s been a beautiful autumn, filled with days that you can spend outside, as long as you can handle a little wind. I’m trying to soak up enough sun to get me through winter, but that wind can make my lips feel like it already IS winter. Wind is the dreaded enemy of healthy lips because it further dries out skin that lacks moisture-providing oil and sweat glands.
So far, the lip balm is doing the trick and keeping my lips moisturized, but I don’t want to spend the winter feeling like I’m single-handedly propping up the ChapStick industry. I did some research at HowStuffWorks on how to avoid chapped lips, and naturally, I’m now passing it on to you.
November 6, 2009
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While chatting with a friend the other day, our conversation meandered its way to the subject of idioms. Specifically, how it’s virtually impossible to literally translate idioms into different languages and have any hope of conveying the original meaning. When learning a new language, slang and idioms are generally things that you pick up along the way once the linguistic puzzle pieces start fitting together snugly in your brain.
But since it’s Friday and I scarcely have time to become multilingual before the weekend commences, I decided to explore how different figures of speech change and shift in different languages. So for fun, take a gander at this sampler platter of select idioms and how their meanings translate in other languages and cultures.
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