A new breed of social media personalities
According to an extensive new study by conversation experts, a new breed of social media personalities has been born. Which one are you?
Culture & the World
Top 5 Deadliest Substances on Earth
There are natural poisons that lurk in bacteria, plants, and fungi pretty much everywhere, and they’re there for good reasons (according to the organisms that produce them) – but what is it about their chemical make up that makes them so poisonous? How do their toxins attack the human body with such deadly efficiency? Discover the answers to these and other questions as Hank talks about some of the most deadly natural substances in the world.
Documentation of Child Labor. Photographs of Lewis Hine
After the Civil War, the availability of natural resources, new inventions, and a receptive market combined to fuel an industrial boom. The demand for labor grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many children were drawn into the labor force. Factory wages were so low that children often had to work to help support their families. The number of children under the age of 15 who worked in industrial jobs for wages climbed from 1.5 million in 1890 to 2 million in 1910.
Txtng is killing language. JK!!!
Does texting mean the death of good writing skills? John McWhorter posits that there’s much more to texting — linguistically, culturally — than it seems, and it’s all good news.
Gold Bullion Vault
The Bank of England protects about £197 billion ($315bn) worth of gold, according to the mostly recently published figures.
Cheating their way to fame: The top 9 adventure travel hoaxes
Traveling may be thrilling, exhausting, dangerous, mind-opening and, occasionally, boring. But more than anything else, going to faraway places is easier talked about than done. Thus, we find history riddled with quiet rumors and full-fledged scandals surrounding claims of heroic journeys that turned out to be tales woven with lies. Other adventurers’ claims, while not known hoaxes, have dwelt in the limbo of critical doubt for years or decades. Following is a listing of some of the best and least known of the world’s travel hoaxes.
Dare to educate Afghan girls
Imagine a country where girls must sneak out to go to school, with deadly consequences if they get caught learning. This was Afghanistan under the Taliban, and traces of that danger remain today. 22-year-old Shabana Basij-Rasikh runs a school for girls in Afghanistan. She celebrates the power of a family’s decision to believe in their daughters — and tells the story of one brave father who stood up to local threats.
Who invented writing?
Speaking came thousands of years before writing. All writing that has developed since its invention can be traced back to two civilizations: Sumerian and Chinese. Matthew Winkler dissects the evolution of Sumerian cuneiform and explains the difference between writing those first symbols and simply drawing meaning.
15 bizarre geographical facts
Our planet is filled with many wonderful geographical and geological anomalies and mysteries. There’re so many of them, that we may never truly unlock all of the nature’s secrets.
Bitcoin Explained
A short video looking at ‘Bitcoin’, a decentralized digital currency. Directed, Designed and Animated by Duncan Elms – duncanelms.com Written and Voiced by Marc Fennell – marcfennell.com This is a personal project done between other jobs. Therefore some of the stats are not up to date. For more info please see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin
Darkened cities: The night sky you’ve never seen
In this way, the metropolitan sky would look like if all the city lights will be turned off. People in larger cities may not see the faint stars by the phenomenon that is called, light pollution. Due to the intense lighting of streets and buildings in the United States and the European Union, 95% of the population can’t see dark sky dotted with stars.
