The Beauty of Maps: A Documentary Here we bring you the 4 part BBC series, The Beauty of Maps. Released almost a year ago the documentary takes us through the staggering four million map collection of the British Library in London. Through the ages the story of the worlds landscape and population has been told through the creative and colorful use of maps. Often that tale has been destorted or idealized by the map maker, adding layers of history and revealing the society behind the maps making. Some examples are simply informational, the layout of streets and their names… others are highly beautiful, displaying a careful hand and creative mind. This is a story that will take you through time and around the world. Medieval Maps Pt 1 Medieval Maps Pt 2 Medieval Maps Pt 3 City Maps Pt 1 City Maps Pt 2 City Maps Pt 3 Atlas Maps Pt 1 Atlas Maps Pt 2 Atlas Maps Pt 3 Cartoon Maps Pt 1 Cartoon Maps Pt 2 Cartoon Maps Pt 3
Earth Population as Village of 100 Claim: List summarizes what proportions of common traits would be like if we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people. Example:[Collected on the Internet, 2001] If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: 57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white 30 would be white 70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States. 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education 1 would own a computer 52 would be female 48 would be male
How to sleep in hot weather 20 August 2012Last updated at 12:29 GMT By Tom de Castella BBC News Magazine Southern and eastern Britain has experienced a mini heat-wave. What's the best way to get to sleep on sticky nights? The hot, humid weather across parts of Britain has made for uncomfortable nights. The Met Office says temperatures will now fall slightly but humidity will remain fairly high at 60-80%. Humidity is a big part of the problem, making it hard for sweat to evaporate. In places like the US, where powerful air conditioning units are reasonably common in houses in hot and humid areas, it's not so much of a concern. But in places like the UK where it's hot and humid less frequently how should people ensure they get a good night's sleep? Weather expert Philip Eden recommends a technique common in Mediterranean countries. Continue reading the main story Sleep strategies "As a species, we are diurnal," says Dr Malcolm von Schantz, a molecular neuroscientist at the University of Surrey's Sleep Centre.
85 rikare än halva jordens befolkning tillsammans Publicerad 2014-01-20 10:19 Världens 85 rikaste personer har mer pengar än jordens fattigaste hälft, 3,5 miljarder människor, tillsammans. De ekonomiska orättvisorna fortsätter öka globalt, enligt välgörenhetsorganisationen Oxfam. – Det är skakande att halva jordens befolkning på 2000-talet inte äger mer än en liten elit vars antal bekvämt skulle få plats i en dubbeldäckare, säger Oxfams vd Winnie Byanyima under det pågående Världsekonomiskt forum i schweiziska Davos. Oxfams rapport ”Working for the few” ger svindlande perspektiv om fördelningen av världens ekonomiska tillgångar som totalt uppskattas till 1.560 biljoner kronor (en biljon har tolv nollor, reds anm). Sverige ligger exempelvis trea på listan över länder där de rikare blivit rikare sedan 1980. • De 85 rikaste personerna har lika mycket pengar som de 3.500.000.000 fattigaste. • Världens rikaste procent äger hälften av världens rikedom – 712 biljoner kronor – och 65 gånger så mycket som den fattigaste hälften.
Decoding the Secret Language of Food Expiration Dates Americans tend to harbor dark suspicions about that forgotten can of beans in the back of the pantry, far past its sell-by date. If you’re like most consumers, you probably just toss expired items on the better-safe-than-sorry principle (unless, perhaps, it’s a Twinkie). But there’s a good chance many aged food remains totally safe to eat, according to a new report (PDF) that blames the flawed food-dating system for tons of perfectly edible food getting wasted each year. While many consumers consider the dates printed on foods a hard deadline, they actually indicate maximum quality or freshness, not safety, explains David Fikes, vice president in charge of consumer affairs at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), a food trade group. “Producers want people to have the best experience of product,” he says. There’s a window after the “expiration” date when a product is still edible—it just won’t look or taste quite as good. • Pack date: This is the day the product was manufactured.
Human Population Predicted To Reach 12 Billion By 2100 At 7.2 billion, the human population is already a serious burden on resources and a threat to the environment and species. Imagine, then, how dire the global situation would be if we were to reach 12 billion, because if the current rate continues, that is what our planet may be facing at the turn of the next century. According to a new study by the United Nations (UN) and the University of Washington, there is an 80% probability that the world population will reach between 9.6 and 12.3 billion in 2100. That’s around 2 billion higher than previous estimates. “The consensus over the past 20 years or so was that world population, which is currently around 7 billion, would go up to 9 billion and level off or probably decline,” study author and statistician Adrian Raftery said in a news release. They anticipate that a large proportion of the increase will occur in Africa because of high fertility and birth rates. Read this next: Keychain First Aid Kit Might Help Save The Bees
Why you shouldn’t go to the doctor at 10 a.m. on a Friday This mock appointment book shows the most and least popular times for Americans to schedule a doctor’s visit during the week. Overall, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are the most popular times for any kind of appointment; Tuesday is the most popular day; and Friday at 10 a.m. is the most popular time slot of all. If you’re in need of a checkup, steer clear! The data come from ZocDoc, an online service that uses access to scores of appointment books from across the country to help patients schedule visits more efficiently. The patterns revealed by ZocDoc’s scheduling data beg for psychological analysis.
The World's Population Might Not Be About Numbers After All In a world with limited resources, we have to conserve what we have and reduce the number of people on the planet—at least, that’s what most of us believe. But is this true? That’s the provocative question raised by the new documentary Misconception. The film, which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, gives us a personal look at the social and political ramifications of population growth. Oscar-winning director Jessica Yu (best documentary short subject) began exploring the issue of population growth while making her previous documentary, Last Call at the Oasis, which is about the global water crisis. Misconception challenges our assumptions through the stories of three everyday people: Bao, a Chinese bachelor who’s facing pressure from his family to marry; Denise, a Canadian pro-life activist; and Gladys, a Kampala, Uganda–based journalist who works with abandoned children. At 29, Bao is under the gun to tie the knot.
To wipe deodorant buildup under your arm, use hand sanitizer A closer look at communities thriving in unexpected places In Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, nearly 70 percent of the population lives in slums that appear to drape like silk over every hill of the city. Iwan Baan: Ingenious homes in unexpected placesIwan Baan is not as interested in what architects build as he is in the beautiful ways that people appropriate the spaces once the planners are gone. In today’s talk, Baan — whose breathtaking image of lower Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy hangs on at least one of our walls — shows incredible images from communities thriving in ways that seem quite opposite to the uniformity of suburbs. First, Baan takes us to Chandigarh, India, where people inhabit buildings created by modernist architects Le Corbusier in very different ways than expected. Baan’s talk will have you marveling at human ingenuity. With no lifts or escalators, the tower is essentially a forty-five-story walk up. With the average temperature in Caracas reaching 28 degrees, the inhabitants needed to find ways to induce airflow.