Results tagged “unknown hero” from HAWT action [hot ak-shuhn]
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
It's Earth Day. It's the one day where we sit back and go, "Holy, f*cking sh*t b*lls, we've f*cked up th*s planet." This movement, like Thanksgiving, can be tied to one person's endeavor. One person pushed and pushed and pushed until we decided to set aside a holiday for us to study how our actions are impacting the planet. His name was Gaylord Nelson, and he was a Senator and Governor of Wisconsin.
This is Gaylord.
Nelson's first attempt at setting up a day to honor the planet was in the early 1960's when he was Governor of Wisconsin. The main concerns at the time were conservation and overpopulation. Nelson's wanted to call attention to spread the ideas of the-now-called "Zero Population Growth," an
organization trying to curb global growth population through increased
access to reproductive health services and supplies. He preached his case, but it wasn't until he got the ear of Attorney General Robert Kennedy that the flame was lit. Kennedy
got his brother, President John F., to do a nationwide tour
discussing conservation. That wasn't enough for Nelson.
It's Earth Day. It's the one day where we sit back and go, "Holy, f*cking sh*t b*lls, we've f*cked up th*s planet." This movement, like Thanksgiving, can be tied to one person's endeavor. One person pushed and pushed and pushed until we decided to set aside a holiday for us to study how our actions are impacting the planet. His name was Gaylord Nelson, and he was a Senator and Governor of Wisconsin.
This is Gaylord.
Nelson's first attempt at setting up a day to honor the planet was in the early 1960's when he was Governor of Wisconsin. The main concerns at the time were conservation and overpopulation. Nelson's wanted to call attention to spread the ideas of the-now-called "Zero Population Growth," an
organization trying to curb global growth population through increased
access to reproductive health services and supplies. He preached his case, but it wasn't until he got the ear of Attorney General Robert Kennedy that the flame was lit. Kennedy
got his brother, President John F., to do a nationwide tour
discussing conservation. That wasn't enough for Nelson.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Gaylord Nelson.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
"It's the greatest thing since sliced toast." Sliced toast. THAT, my friends, is the measure of greatness for mankind's progress. A disco ball? It didn't steal the mantle. We don't say, "It's the greatest thing since the disco ball." We don't say, "It's the greatest thing since HBO." "It's the greatest thing since That 70's Show."
Forget about it.
And toast? It's brought to us (commercially) by the Unknown Hero Frank Shailor. This is usually when I show a picture of the Unknown Hero, but there are no pictures of Frank. So, this is Frank's invention, the D-12. It's the first commercially-successful electric toaster Shailor developed while at General Electric in 1909.
Oh, SURE, it seems like such a simple device, but developing that product was a big deal. A big deal. Again, it's the standard all other developments are measured against. Interested?
"It's the greatest thing since sliced toast." Sliced toast. THAT, my friends, is the measure of greatness for mankind's progress. A disco ball? It didn't steal the mantle. We don't say, "It's the greatest thing since the disco ball." We don't say, "It's the greatest thing since HBO." "It's the greatest thing since That 70's Show."
Forget about it.
And toast? It's brought to us (commercially) by the Unknown Hero Frank Shailor. This is usually when I show a picture of the Unknown Hero, but there are no pictures of Frank. So, this is Frank's invention, the D-12. It's the first commercially-successful electric toaster Shailor developed while at General Electric in 1909.
Oh, SURE, it seems like such a simple device, but developing that product was a big deal. A big deal. Again, it's the standard all other developments are measured against. Interested?
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Frank Shailor.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
Part of the world still lives with antiquated laws that spit in the face of human rights. In Yemen, it's still legal for men to marry girls. When I say girls, I mean 9- and 10-year-olds. Recently, two girls took on the system. This is Nujood (top) and Arwa (bottom, a few years ago, with her father):
Part of the world still lives with antiquated laws that spit in the face of human rights. In Yemen, it's still legal for men to marry girls. When I say girls, I mean 9- and 10-year-olds. Recently, two girls took on the system. This is Nujood (top) and Arwa (bottom, a few years ago, with her father):
The content of this post, along with the photos, comes from this past weekend's New York Times. The article by Robert Worth, Tiny Voices Defy Child Marriage in Yemen, explores how child marriage is common in Yemen. It's not illegal, but it is not really discussed. In fact, in a recent survey done by Sana University, the average age of marriage in Yemen's rural areas is 12 to 13. Holy. Moly.
Continue reading Unknown Heroes: Nujood Ali and Arwa Abdu Muhammad Ali.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
For hard-core HAWT readers, you've seen this Unknown Hero before in Disease: Cholera. Dr. John Snow was a physician in London in the 19th century who was one of those people who looked at the standard, Medieval medical practices and said, "WTF?" Just like that. W (pause) T (pause) F (pause) (question mark) He's a man who helped shape history and set modern medicine on its way. Anyone who's gone under the knife or gotten sick owes a toast to him. That should be all of you humans. This is John:
Born in 1813 in York, England, he had a pretty standard route to doctor-dom, which means he was a surgeon's apprentice at age 14. How times change. I mean... we don't let 14 year-olds be baristas now, much less assist on heart surgeries. By the time he was a full-on doctor, at age 25 at Westminster Hospital, he was well on his way to changing the world, medical style.
For hard-core HAWT readers, you've seen this Unknown Hero before in Disease: Cholera. Dr. John Snow was a physician in London in the 19th century who was one of those people who looked at the standard, Medieval medical practices and said, "WTF?" Just like that. W (pause) T (pause) F (pause) (question mark) He's a man who helped shape history and set modern medicine on its way. Anyone who's gone under the knife or gotten sick owes a toast to him. That should be all of you humans. This is John:
Born in 1813 in York, England, he had a pretty standard route to doctor-dom, which means he was a surgeon's apprentice at age 14. How times change. I mean... we don't let 14 year-olds be baristas now, much less assist on heart surgeries. By the time he was a full-on doctor, at age 25 at Westminster Hospital, he was well on his way to changing the world, medical style.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Dr. John Snow.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
Irena Sendler (also known as Sendlerowa) was born in 1910 in Poland. Raised a Roman Catholic, she watched as the Nazi wreaked havoc in Warsaw in the 1940s. She felt compelled to help the Jews locked up in the ghetto. When the world is coated by the darkness and heaviness of mankind's worst side, a light can still shine. Or something. This is Irena:
Oscar Winning movie Schindler's List explores the dangers and repercussions of going behind the Nazi's back to help Jews. Schindler's List had 1,100 names on it; 1,100 actual people he saved. The network Sendler ran in Poland would have a "list" of 2,500 children. Sendler, alone, had 400 on her own tab.
Irena Sendler (also known as Sendlerowa) was born in 1910 in Poland. Raised a Roman Catholic, she watched as the Nazi wreaked havoc in Warsaw in the 1940s. She felt compelled to help the Jews locked up in the ghetto. When the world is coated by the darkness and heaviness of mankind's worst side, a light can still shine. Or something. This is Irena:
Oscar Winning movie Schindler's List explores the dangers and repercussions of going behind the Nazi's back to help Jews. Schindler's List had 1,100 names on it; 1,100 actual people he saved. The network Sendler ran in Poland would have a "list" of 2,500 children. Sendler, alone, had 400 on her own tab.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Irena Sendler.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
Chuck Feeney made his billions with Duty Free Shoppers Group, a company he co-founded about 50 years ago and grew to become the largest duty free chain in the world (yes, those stores in the airport where you can buy a Toblerone pyramid and giant bottles of Scotch for the same price as anywhere else). Feeney has taken to given his billions of dollars away. If you ever run into him on the street, you're going to want to know who he is so you can thank him. This is Chuck:
He rides the subway, taxes taxis, and buys clothes off the rack. He flies coach. He owns no real estate. He has five children who worked summers as hotel maids, cashiers and waiters. That's the kind of billionaire I like.
Chuck Feeney made his billions with Duty Free Shoppers Group, a company he co-founded about 50 years ago and grew to become the largest duty free chain in the world (yes, those stores in the airport where you can buy a Toblerone pyramid and giant bottles of Scotch for the same price as anywhere else). Feeney has taken to given his billions of dollars away. If you ever run into him on the street, you're going to want to know who he is so you can thank him. This is Chuck:
He rides the subway, taxes taxis, and buys clothes off the rack. He flies coach. He owns no real estate. He has five children who worked summers as hotel maids, cashiers and waiters. That's the kind of billionaire I like.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Chuck Feeney.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero" postings.
It takes decades of research to understand even the most basic diseases. People have worked their entire lives just to define what the disease is (bacteria, virus, fungus?). Dr. Judah Folkman dedicated his career to understanding cancer, and his work over the past three decades has defined the very hurdle of drug delivery to cancer cells. This is Judah:
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Dr. Judah Folkman.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
Vinod Khosla has made, like, a billion dollars. Literally. So, what does a man do once he has a billion dollars? He can be a (fantastic) mayor of New York City. He can host a reality TV show where "celebrities" fumble over themselves to be... on TV? He can dance with death by floating hot air balloons around the world and disappear while flying a homemade aircraft. Vinod Khosla, though? He has dedicated himself to fight poverty and fund alternative energy development. This is Vinod:
It's hard to get any commendations for environmental initiative
when Al Gore's out there with his movies and his Oscar. Well, as much as Al Gore has brought attention to global warming, Vinod
has been working to end it.
Vinod Khosla has made, like, a billion dollars. Literally. So, what does a man do once he has a billion dollars? He can be a (fantastic) mayor of New York City. He can host a reality TV show where "celebrities" fumble over themselves to be... on TV? He can dance with death by floating hot air balloons around the world and disappear while flying a homemade aircraft. Vinod Khosla, though? He has dedicated himself to fight poverty and fund alternative energy development. This is Vinod:
It's hard to get any commendations for environmental initiative
when Al Gore's out there with his movies and his Oscar. Well, as much as Al Gore has brought attention to global warming, Vinod
has been working to end it.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Vinod Khosla.
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea
who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero"
postings.
William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain collaborated, in 1947, to change the world and make your computer, cell phone, microwave, digital camera, car, calculator, airplane, electric toothbrush (you get my drift) possible. This is the 50th anniversary of their work, so we should honor them. These are William, John and Walter:
William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain collaborated, in 1947, to change the world and make your computer, cell phone, microwave, digital camera, car, calculator, airplane, electric toothbrush (you get my drift) possible. This is the 50th anniversary of their work, so we should honor them. These are William, John and Walter:
Even though this trio won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for inventing the solid state transistor, we wouldn't recognize any of their photos. We don't know the last one of these men passed away in over 15 years ago. So, what merited the Nobel Prize? What is a solid state transistor? Whoo-bi-di-whaaa?
There are people out there who change our world, and we have no idea who they are. I intend on highlighting them with "Unknown Hero" postings.
Peter Pronovost, M.D. will impact mankind more than any artist, athlete, politician, [fill in the blank], and STILL barely anyone would recognize his face. So, let me introduce him. This is Peter:
His work was the subject of an amazing article by Atul Gawande, The Checklist, in the December 10th issue of the New Yorker. Lucky for you, the article is online here. Let me summarize Dr. Pronovost's work, though, so you don't get to the article, you can still know why you're thanking him if you ever see him in person.
Peter Pronovost, M.D. will impact mankind more than any artist, athlete, politician, [fill in the blank], and STILL barely anyone would recognize his face. So, let me introduce him. This is Peter:
His work was the subject of an amazing article by Atul Gawande, The Checklist, in the December 10th issue of the New Yorker. Lucky for you, the article is online here. Let me summarize Dr. Pronovost's work, though, so you don't get to the article, you can still know why you're thanking him if you ever see him in person.
Continue reading Unknown Hero: Dr. Peter Pronovost.
