Miscellaneous
David de Rothschild to sail in a boat of plastic bottles
British adventurer will sail across the Pacific in a 60-foot catamaran made of 12,000 plastic bottles and other recycled materials. Marco Visscher | May 2009 issue According to David de Rothschild, the plastic bottle is the icon of the modern lifestyle. “It costs an awful lot of energy to Read More...
Doctatorship: Military thinking in medicine
Military thinking has invaded medical thinking. It’s time to replace shock and awe with health and peace. Dana Ullman | May 2009 issue Our military thinking and our medical thinking have a surprising amount in common. It isn’t just happenstance that doctors proudly assert that they seek to Read More...
Diving in to a company's data
Why full disclosure is crucial to measuring a company’s environmental and social impact. Amy Domini | May 2009 issue A nice bonus comes when you buy a pair of shoes from the shoe company Timberland. A label on the box marked “Our Footprint” tells what percentage of your shoes was made with Read More...
Perspectives on trials and loss
Three stories about dealing with loss. Paulo Coelho | May 2009 issue When life makes us face difficult situations—such as a personal loss—we have to understand that eternity is taking one more step. Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote something beautiful about this: You are cloud, sea, Read More...
The placebo effect is not all in your mind
What the placebo effect tells us about the healing power of the brain. David Servan-Schreiber | May 2009 issue In the lab, Takeo couldn't stand it anymore. The itching was driving him crazy. He watched his right arm turn red and wondered why he’d decided to take part in this experiment. He knew Read More...
The inefficient pleasure of cherries
What to do with all those cherries? Make a pie! Elbrich Fennema | May 2009 issue When an economist looks at a cherry tree, he or she sees inefficiency. The excess of flowers will yield an excess of cherries, each with its own fertile pit, all of which can’t possibly grow into cherry trees. What a Read More...
Center and fringe
The center gets a lot of attention, but the fringes are more interesting. James Geary | May 2009 issue The center, we are told, should be our goal, both our starting point and our destination. But the fringes are more interesting. It is here, on the periphery, where friction produces its most Read More...
Grandmother’s Day: A chance to show what grandmas have to give
In an effort to preserve the knowledge and skills of grandparents, famous Irish chef Darina Allen launched Slow Food International Grandmother’s Day, to be celebrated every April 25th. Sanra Ritten | May 2009 issue Is Grandmother’s Day just a ploy to persuade people to buy grandmothers Read More...
Videos: John Cage's 'As Slow as Possible'
A former church in Halberstadt has specially designed an organ to play John Cage's experimental composition. The Editors | May 2009 Read More...
Videos: Creating a catamaran of plastic bottles
See the making of the Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran made of plastic bottles, and watch interviews with David de Rothschild, who plans to sail the Plastiki across the Pacific. Ode Editors | May 2009 Read More...