by Erin Blakemore National Geographic What do Liberia, Myanmar, and the United States have in common? They use imperial measurements—feet, pounds, and miles—instead of meters, grams, and kilometers. Critics call this shameful. The truth however, is more complicated: Though imperial units are commonly used in the U.S., the metric system is actually the …
Category Archives: technology
Blind Architect Designs Accessible Spaces
by Lauren Beavis South West News Service Emily Annakin has lost most of her sight through Stargardt disease – a form of juvenile macular degeneration which means she has no central vision. She is now a UWE Bristol Architecture and Planning student and as part of her final degree course redesigned part of …
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Surge Pricing Coming To A Wal-Mart Near You
by Kevin Burton The Wal-Mart closest to our house is almost finished with a major remodel, including all shelves and bins and even its drive-through pharmacy. I am guessing this is not about being tidy, but about making a tidy profit. I think this is about surge pricing. Apps such as Uber …
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Feds: Pepsi Discriminated Against The Blind
by Kevin Burton If you’re looking for something to drink, or somewhere to work, choose Coke, not Pepsi. According to multiple published reports, PepsiCo hired a blind man for a call center, then fired him rather than get him a screen reader – even after a state vocational rehabilitation counselor offered to buy …
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Of Long, Long Trains And Trains Under Water
by Kevin Burton “There’s something magical about train travel for just about everybody,” writes the Interesting Facts website, “whether you’re an engineering nerd, a hopeless romantic, a world traveler, or an easily excitable 8-year-old.” The longest train ride I have taken so far was (round-trip) from Wasilla, Alaska up to Denali National Park. …
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All Aboard For Interesting Facts About Trains
by Kevin Burton My dream vacation is to accompany my bride on a long, interrupted train ride along the Mississippi River. The plan is to ride the City of New Orleans train on Amtrak – the one that Arlo Guthrie sang about – from Chicago to Memphis, get off and explore that town …
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Far From Being Obsolete, Braille Is Essential
by Tracy Conly (Tracy Conly is a longtime friend from our days at the Ohio State School for the Blind, a great Braille reader and advocate for the blind. This is her reaction to our March 15 story “A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy.”) “Braille changes lives. It gives thousands …
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Karaoke Machine Inventor Dies At Age 100
by Kevin Burton Shigeichi Negishi, the inventor of the world’s first commercially-available karaoke machine, has died in Japan at age 100, according to National Public Radio. Never knew the man, but boy has he filled up my Saturday nights. You take a character from Billy Joel’s Piano Man who is“sure that I …
A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy
by Kevin Burton Last week we ran a story about subjects that are either gone from classrooms or close to it (“Subjects No Longer Taught (Much) In Schools,” March 6.) That got me thinking about Braille. While growing up at the Ohio State School for the Blind, I just assumed that all …
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Subjects No Longer Taught (Much) In Schools
by interestingfacts.com Think back to your school days: Are you nostalgic for flipping through a dusty library card catalog or clacking away on a typewriter? Some subjects you remember from those days are probably things of the past, although the finer points of how schools have changed might surprise you. These six subjects …
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