Miscellaneous
Bitcoins: Goldman Sachs sees the writing on the wall
Why would we write about a boring report by a bank in The Optimist Daily? Because the report is on bitcoins and the bank is Goldman Sachs, an important pillar of modern finance. “Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are part of a technology ‘megatrend’ that could change the fundamental mechanics of Read More...
A new health center in Haiti is built to tackle cholera
Five years after Haiti’s worst cholera outbreak, a newly opened cholera treatment center in Port-au-Prince has been designed to battle the highly contagious disease. This open-air center “is framed by ocean-hued walls that allow light and air to sweep through the space, adding cooling cross Read More...
Absolutely stunning photos of the natural world
This is a must-see. Smithsonian Magazine has announced the finalists for its annual photo contest, selected from many thousands of photos, gathered from almost 100 countries. Be sure to check them out. They will make your Read More...
Don’t praise your kids (too much)
Being too nice to your children can make them narcissists. That’s the outcome of a study done by developmental psychologists at the University of Amsterdam. So why’s that solutions-news? Well, have you recently been at a Saturday morning children’s sports game? It has turned into an unhealthy Read More...
Goodyear develops a tire that charges electric car battery
Talking about reinventing the wheel? US tire company Goodyear has built a prototype of a tire that can charge the batteries of electric cars. The charging tire generates electricity both while in motion and when parked. The tire is designed to absorb sunlight that’s converted into electricity Read More...
Beijing has found a way to get more people reading books
Books seem to have lost their appeal. Who would want to sit down with a book on our daily commute if our smart phones bring us gossip and games? In Beijing, subway riders are now being seduced to pick up a book without doing away their phones. A simple scan of a QR code inside the train car gives Read More...
Tree with 3D-printed leaves captures energy from sun and wind
What would nature do? Scientists at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland were curious about it, and created a tree with leaves of ultrathin 3D-printed solar cells. The leaves do not only store solar energy, but they also harvest kinetic energy from wind and temperature changes in the Read More...
Humans are getting smarter
Global IQs are rising, an average of 20 points in the last 50 years. While there is some debate about the relevancy of IQ tests—they don’t factor in social constructs that can impact the score—generally they are regarded as accurate measures of intelligence. The IQ scores of most people are Read More...
Making shoes out of old couches
Think of all the couches you’ve sat on in your life, there number probably the hundreds, if not thousands. Every one of those couches is still in the world today, many taking up large amounts of real estate in a landfill. A new company is taking old couches, and repurposing the material to make Read More...
Breaking meditation’s stereotypes
The benefits of meditation really are countless. Among them is that meditation is the only proven way to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But sadly, those who meditate are often stigmatized as a subset of the population—granola-crunching hippies who are always worried about their chakra. While Read More...