curiosity counts: How One Man Took A Secret Super-Material To The Grave -
“In 1990, an amateur inventor called Maurice Ward appeared on British TV demonstrating a super-material he’d invented without any scientific training. Called Starlite, it could withstand temperatures of 1000 °C, was hard enough to drill holes in walls, and could easily be painted on to surfaces….
(Source: welcomeback)
Wendell Wilke published a book in March of ‘43 called One World, which instantly becomes the greatest nonfiction best seller in American history. In that book, it’s a fantasy about how much the Soviet Union is becoming like the United States. The message of that book, One World, is that:
Inside of every Russian, inside of every Chinese, inside of every African, every European, every Asian, is an American waiting to emerge.
Kind of what we believe now?
We’ve always believed it.
FANTASTIC HOUSE
http://www.contemporist.com/2012/05/09/casa-finisterra-by-steven-harris-architects/
“You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.” —
via matt gordon
(via chutesdimages)
Jefferson Had A Solution To Our Inequality
Tomorrow’s cover today: the digitisation of manufacturing will transform the way goods are made—and change the politics of jobs too.
(via humanscalecities)
In 1886 the Bell Company announced that customers would no longer be charged a flat fee, but would be charged by call for all telephone use over 500 calls a year. Outraged customers objected, and the Rochester city council revoked the company’s franchise. In addition, telephone users staged a strike, removing their receivers at noon on November 20, 1886, and leaving them off the hook for 18 months while the company stood fast. Finally, Bell gave way, offering lower rates, and the strike was ended.
The telephone strike had stimulated in Rochester’s citizens a desire for a locally-owned telephone company. When the Bell Company’s patents expired in 1893, many competing telephone enterprises sprung up. In early 1899, a group of Rochester businessmen joined this movement when they founded the Home Telephone Company. By the end of the year, the company’s name had been changed to Rochester Telephone Company.
via: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Crossing_North_America
or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Telephone_%28New_York%29
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From a Tiny House Blog reader
Dear friends,
I wanted to let you know about a new petition on We the People, a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your name to mine? If this petition gets 25,000 signatures by April 27, 2012, the White House will review it and respond!
We the People allows anyone to create and sign petitions asking the Obama Administration to take action on a range of issues. If a petition gets enough support, the Obama Administration will issue an official response.
You can view and sign the petition here: http://wh.gov/nBE
Here’s some more information about this petition:
The 1000+ sq foot zoning requirements currently in place in most states, were initiated by lenders/municipalities, in an attempt to force Americans to build bigger homes, thus incurring larger debt (so lenders could make more$) and municipalities could charge higher taxes.This practice limits the ability of Americans to achieve the “American Dream” of home ownership in a structure size that suits their needs. There is a growing trend to build smaller homes but it is difficult because of these restrictions. Laws requiring homes to be1000+ sq feet are unconstitutional and should be abolished. States should be required to remove these laws so that more families can live within their financial means, in a structure that suits their needs, and supports their environmentally held beliefs.
Note: These are local laws, not requiring federal government involvement, but this issue is important. Most zoning laws currently support waste & limit housing to primarily three common building types, the suburban house and standardized setback, 100 foot lots (Single Family Dwellings), the Rowhouse/ Townhouse (Attached Single Family Dwellings or apartment buildings, (Multifamily Dwellings). Look around your town and can you find any small affordable detached housing being built?
This illustration of the future of air travel by Harry Grant Dart appeared on the cover of All Story magazine, c. 1910.
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