One day I was in the library, working on my thesis and feeling tired. I made a stop in the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and remember thinking that I looked pretty weary. Then as I was getting ready to leave the bathroom, I noticed a small Post-It note on the mirror. It said simply, "You are beautiful just the way you are." I remember thinking that it was so refreshing to see encouragment from other women in a place where so many women look in the mirror and think critical thoughts of themse ...

With Lebanon’s chronic power shortages, classes at the Rajam Issa public school are often plunged into darkness during the winter. In the remote northeastern district of Akkar, teachers and students are hoping this winter will be the first of many years when the lights stay on. “Electricity is the lifeline of the school,” said head teacher Ibrahim Salame of the Rajam Issa public school, complaining of frequent and prolonged power cuts. (Photo: Hugh Macleod/IRIN) “Du ...

Because everyone else does.

Why believe that people once put razor blades into apples and you should only eat wrapped candies? Because everyone else believes it (it's an urban legend).

Most of what we believe is not a result of direct experience (ever seen an electron?) but is rather part of our collection of truth because everyone (or at least the people we respect) around us seems to believe it as well.

We not only believe that some brands are better than others, we believe in social constructs, no shirt, no shoes, no service. We believe things about changing our names when we get married or what's an appropriate gift for a baby shower.

This groupthink is the soil that marketing grows in. It's frustrating for someone who is hyper-fact-based or launching a new brand to come to the conclusion that people believe what they believe, not that people are fact-centered data processing organisms.

Sure, it would be great to have an organization that enjoys the advantage of everyone believing. Getting from here, to there, though, requires stories, emotion and ideas that spread. Organizations grow when they persuade a tiny cadre to be passionate, not when they touch millions with a mediocre message.

Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on a church door, initiating the Reformation (1517) Arthur Conan Doyle published The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)  The Battle of Britain ended, and prevented a German invasion (1940) After 14 years of work, drilling was completed on Mount Rushmore (1941) Roman Catholic and Lutheran church leaders signed a Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old dispute over the nature of faith and salvation (1999) Soyuz TM-31 laun ...

In a journey familiar to retirees but not sea mammals, Ilya the wayward manatee flew south for the winter Thursday after being rescued from a chilly New Jersey creek. Now he's back in Miami, with all the lettuce he can eat and even some female companionship. Ilya was flown south aboard a Coast Guard C-130 cargo plane after being rescued Monday from a small waterway between northern New Jersey and Staten Island, N.Y. It took more than 30 rescuers and 7 1/2 hours to corral Ilya in a 300 ...

A Wisconsin "empty bowls" event featured local pottery artists and bowls fashioned by area schools as a fundraiser for the local food pantry. Hundreds of Wausau residents chose their favorites from among rows of clay bowls donated. Some of the best chefs in town ladled soups into the new bowls for a fee of just $10. Proceeds when to “The Neighbors Place", while residents took home their bowls.   The program, in its second year, couldn’t have come at a better time. Tom Rau ...

Every year, tens of thousands of people die because organ donor status in the US is opt in. If you want to be an organ donor when you're dead, you need to go through steps now to opt in. The default is "no."

Press releases, sent by the billions, seem to have become opt out. If you don't want the barrage of nonsense, PR firms appear to believe that one by one you must alert each and every publicist in the world of your desire to not hear from them.

401 (k) plans tend to be opt in. If you do nothing, you get nothing.

Talking to the police after getting arrested is strictly opt out. Nothing to sign, you just talk.

Cheese on your pasta used to be opt out, but now it appears to be becoming opt in.

Bacon should never be opt out. Sorry, but that's just the way I feel.

I think there are a few general principles that could save us time and money and hassle:

• If there's a public good involved from a certain behavior, the default should be opt out.
• If the pressure or cost of opting out is high and it involves a civil right, then opt in is a better choice for our society. (Obviously a potential conflict to the first rule).
• If a business benefits in aggregate and the consumer is penalized on average, then it's smart public policy for it to be opt in.
• If your business is going to depend on this connection as an asset, opt in is the way to go. Opt out email is another word for spam.

So, I'd make organ donation opt out, public religious observance opt in, newsletters opt in and smart financial choices opt out. Anything that tricks a consumer into paying for something ought to be double opt in. And without a doubt, email (and commercial transactions of all kinds) are opt in. Smart for both sides.

No need to sneak around. Ask first.

Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation have approved a statement apologising for the 16th-century persecution by Lutherans of Anabaptists, religious reformers whose successors are found in groups such as the Mennonites. "We ask for forgiveness - from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers - for the harm that our forebears in the sixteenth century committed to Anabaptists," says the statement adopted unanimously on 26 October by the LWF's main governing body, its council. ...

India is withdrawing about 15,000 soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir, a military official said on Thursday, in a move aimed at boosting prospects of peace talks with the disputed region's separatist groups. Ashok Mehta, a retired army general and New Delhi-based strategic analyst, said the removal of troops was a goodwill gesture aimed at Kashmiri groups. (Continue reading Reuters article) ...

Russia's first constitution and legislative assembly granted by its Tsar (1905) The Ottoman Empire signed an armistice ending WW I in Middle East (1918) Franklin Roosevelt approved $1B in US Lend-Lease aid to Europe (1941) El Salvador and Honduras signed a peace treaty over border dispute (1980) First democratic elections in Argentina after 7 years of military rule (1983) The Madrid peace conference organized by the US and Soviet Union opened, the first time in 43 years that Israel ...

Six-year-old Elena left love notes behind for her family before losing her battle with childhood brain cancer. The Today Show talked to her parents and sister about finding the notes through the years, and the most recent one, found years after her death. Inspiring video below, or at MSNBC...     ...

For any woman who has sighed with exasperation over her grey hairs, it is a thought that really makes the mind boggle. What if you could ditch the dye and regain the hair color that you grew up with? Surely, you might think, this is the stuff of science fiction. But according to the experts at Centre Charles Zviak, L'Oreal's research and development HQ, it is science -- but by no means fiction. If the company's plans come good, going grey will be a thing of the past in ten years. ...

On October 24, 1972, the UN General Assembly instituted World Development Information Day, to draw people's attention to development problems and the continuous need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them. One problem, medicine delivery and storage, is being addressed by leaders at the United Nations, thanks to a new initiative. A program was launched this week to help improve the ability to safely deliver and procure medicines during humanitarian crises around the world. Human ...

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. The Commerce Department's report Thursday delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended. (Good news, with nice graph, at NPR)  ...

I liked these photos that came out of the White House last week. First, the official Obama family portrait; second, from a health fair presided over by the First Lady, Michelle 'hula hoops' with children to promote health and fitness.       Below, watch the video from the health fair featuring pictures of the First Lady running the obstacle course among the 100 elementary students in attendence. (She also jumped rope, double dutch.)   ...

are little ideas that no one killed too soon.

Mozart's opera Don Giovanni received its first performance in Prague (1787) 16 countries met in Geneva and formed the International Red Cross (1863) New Yorkers spontaneously invented a ticker-tape parade as office workers threw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty was dedicated (1886) The National Organization for Women was founded in the U.S. (1966) Turkey became a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1923) European Union leaders signed the EU ...

Stephen Wiltshire is an autistic artist with an amazing ability to create a detailed architectural drawing of an entire city after a single helicopter ride. Now, for the first time, the Londoner will sketch a 20-foot panorama of the Manhattan skyline, all from memory. He is also working on his New York accent. Watch the Reuters video below... RELATED VIDEOS ON GNN: Autistic Savant Draws Amazing Detailed Buildings After Viewing Them Once ...

During the 2009 World Series, which kicks off on Wednesday night in New York, a Green Team will be out amongst the fans in attendance, carrying bags to encourage recycling. In-stadium announcements and Ribbon Board messages will also encourage fans to minimize waste. Eco-friendly practice is hardly a new concept to the Yankees, however. The Yankees have prioritized the environmental impact of their new stadium by ensuring the efficiency of equipment and focusing on energy reduction. Inst ...

There are reportedly thousands of abandoned concrete bunkers scattered throughout Albania, remnants of a Communist dictator's paranoia. Now graduate students have developed a plan called Concrete Mushrooms that would ‘invert the meaning’ of these structures by turning them into an economic asset -- a network of habitable eco-hostels, cafés, gift shops and more. (More photos and continue reading at Inhabitat.com) ...