http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/22/tech/innovation/apparently-this-matters-shreddies/%3Firef%3Dobinsite&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gws_rd=cr&ei=HTeqUqSiDKar7AbI6YHADw?iref=obnetwork
Shreddies were invented
by a British industrial designer named Paul O'Leary, and the name comes
from a colloquial term used for underwear that originated with the
British Forces. I was told that soldiers would literally shred their
underwear from marching so much.
Yup. Underwear that makes your farts not stink. Because apparently that matters - to borrow the line from the article above.
Somehow, on the top of our list of priorities, is fart underwear. Cleaning up the environment, clean energy, feeding the nations - these things may be on our list, but they are certainly not at the top.
Most people have only one priority: survival. If that is not one's priority, then one is one of the lucky ones. When I say "survival" I am not only talking about those people living under or on the poverty line, but also those people who make only enough money to maintain a very basic life and have very little savings or opportunity to change their situation. We have all, after all, learned by now that the American dream is just a dream that we see in movies and happening to a very small minority of people.
Just imagine if we were to put all the funds, attention, skills, resources and innovation into improving life on a large scale instead of into military - If wars were starved of funding, how different would life be? Imagine if we focused on ways to clean up our air quality instead of finding new and improved ways to kill people.Imagine if we cared as much about sustainable food production as we did about fashion (Imagine people watching a TV channel dedicated to improving sustainable and ethical food production as much as people watch Fashion TV, Extreme Makeover and other appearance based TV shows - OR imagine there being as many magazines on "ways to be a kinder person" as there are on fashion, beauty & health now). Imagine caring as much about developing a car that runs on air as what Miley Cyrus has been up to. Imagine caring as much about feeding the world as about going shopping on Black Friday. You kinda can't, can you?
We are so wrapped up in our own little worlds and our own survival that we do not have the compassion and foresight to spare for other things. Because we are so consumed by our own lives, we seldom stop to question whether the direction we are heading in as a collective community is actually where we want to be going. Do you like the idea of a global military spending of $1.7 trillion? Do you like the fact that half of the human population lives on the breadline or below? Do you like the fact that the future of our global food supply is looking bleak? Nevertheless, this is what is happening.
The other side of all of this is that those of us in a position to really start pushing for change seem to isolate ourselves within a set of beliefs or opinions, and basically refuse to acknowledge the validity of anything else. Sure, that belief gives us a sense of meaning and purpose, but what good is a feeling of purpose when it's not rooted in any real, tangible change?
Here are some interesting links:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
Shreddies were invented
by a British industrial designer named Paul O'Leary, and the name comes
from a colloquial term used for underwear that originated with the
British Forces. I was told that soldiers would literally shred their
underwear from marching so much.
Hence, Shreddies.
But these Shreddies are
nothing like the worn and torn undies that the name suggests. Or the
ones I bought from Target in 2003, which are still clinging to life.
Here, O'Leary actually
worked with lingerie designers from De Montfort University's lingerie
design course (where the hell was this when I was in college?) and
utilized something called Zorflex, an activated carbon cloth that has
traditionally been used in chemical warfare suits.
So, basically, it's like attaching a military-strength Brita to your butt. - CNN
Yup. Underwear that makes your farts not stink. Because apparently that matters - to borrow the line from the article above.
Somehow, on the top of our list of priorities, is fart underwear. Cleaning up the environment, clean energy, feeding the nations - these things may be on our list, but they are certainly not at the top.
Most people have only one priority: survival. If that is not one's priority, then one is one of the lucky ones. When I say "survival" I am not only talking about those people living under or on the poverty line, but also those people who make only enough money to maintain a very basic life and have very little savings or opportunity to change their situation. We have all, after all, learned by now that the American dream is just a dream that we see in movies and happening to a very small minority of people.
Just imagine if we were to put all the funds, attention, skills, resources and innovation into improving life on a large scale instead of into military - If wars were starved of funding, how different would life be? Imagine if we focused on ways to clean up our air quality instead of finding new and improved ways to kill people.Imagine if we cared as much about sustainable food production as we did about fashion (Imagine people watching a TV channel dedicated to improving sustainable and ethical food production as much as people watch Fashion TV, Extreme Makeover and other appearance based TV shows - OR imagine there being as many magazines on "ways to be a kinder person" as there are on fashion, beauty & health now). Imagine caring as much about developing a car that runs on air as what Miley Cyrus has been up to. Imagine caring as much about feeding the world as about going shopping on Black Friday. You kinda can't, can you?
We are so wrapped up in our own little worlds and our own survival that we do not have the compassion and foresight to spare for other things. Because we are so consumed by our own lives, we seldom stop to question whether the direction we are heading in as a collective community is actually where we want to be going. Do you like the idea of a global military spending of $1.7 trillion? Do you like the fact that half of the human population lives on the breadline or below? Do you like the fact that the future of our global food supply is looking bleak? Nevertheless, this is what is happening.
The other side of all of this is that those of us in a position to really start pushing for change seem to isolate ourselves within a set of beliefs or opinions, and basically refuse to acknowledge the validity of anything else. Sure, that belief gives us a sense of meaning and purpose, but what good is a feeling of purpose when it's not rooted in any real, tangible change?
Here are some interesting links:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
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