Erik Winkowski

Articles

Kinkajou Projector Brings Literacy to Mali

Teaching adults to read is a difficult enough task in and of itself, but in rural Mali, teachers also face classrooms without electricity and books weathered by the punishing desert climate. Enter the Kinkajou Projector, a fusion of high and low technology that makes teaching night literacy classes as..

Audio Dregs Recordings

Apr 16, 2009

Attack of the Giant Jellyfish!

Giant jellyfish have invaded the northern coasts of the Japanese islands and they're causing problems. Frustrated local fishermen are hauling...

Audio Dregs Recordings

Apr 10, 2009

Emergency in Mumbai? Dial 1298!

Americans take 911 for granted, but in many developing nations a centralized emergency telephone number is unheard of. In Mumbai, a private ambulance company has stepped up to fill the void in emergency medical service. In a city where "ambulance" used to be synonymous with "hearse," Mumbai residents..

Jan 30, 2009

Cornography

The United States is the number one per capita consumer of corn in the world. Don't recall stuffing your face with thousands of ears of corn...

Jan 11, 2009

Animal Superpowers

From cicadas who hibernate for 17 years to checkerboard-camouflaged cuttlefish, some animals have powers that border on the super. Artists Kenichi Okada and Chris Woebken have created three devices designed to give children a chance to experience heightened animal senses. For example, their Bird Device..

Audio Dregs Recordings

Dec 12, 2008

Hippo Rollers

In rural Africa, women spend 26% of their time fetching water, often walking for miles with heavy buckets balanced on their heads. That's time...

Nov 26, 2008

Pollen Bots

Seasonal allergy sufferers, rejoice! Japanese scientists have deployed an army of anthropomorphic pollen sensors across the country in an...

Audio Dregs Recordings

Oct 31, 2008

Eco-Gym

Chances are you go to the gym because it makes you feel good. But nothing kills that post-workout buzz like contemplating the environmental impact of traditional gyms-the air conditioning, the cardio machines, the thousands of tiny towels that are washed daily. Manuel de Arriba Ares has an alternative:..

Oct 06, 2008

Salar de Uyuni

With an area about the size of New Jersey, Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flat is known as the flattest place on earth. So when NASA needs to...

Sep 12, 2008

Rooftop Bees

With space at such a premium in Manhattan, New Yorkers are accustomed to thinking vertically when it comes to housing. Now bees are getting in on the action. David Graves, an urban beekeeper, tends his hives far above the bustle of New York on rooftops throughout the city. His buzzworthy honey gets rave..

Aug 04, 2008

Cambodian Sports

Decades of war and internal strife have left Cambodia with one of the highest proportions of people disabled by land mines in the world. The...

Jul 23, 2008

Urban Aquaculture

Professor Martin Schreibman says our oceans have been overfished beyond repair. If we're going to keep eating fish and chips, tuna tartare,...

Jul 04, 2008

Landmine Flowers

Scientists in Denmark have developed a plant that turns red when it comes into contact with trace amounts of TNT. If sowed over an area...

Audio Dregs Recordings

Apr 15, 2008

Latest Stories

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Giant jellyfish have invaded the northern coasts of the Japanese islands and they're causing problems. Frustrated local fishermen are hauling...

The United States is the number one per capita consumer of corn in the world. Don't recall stuffing your face with thousands of ears of corn...

In rural Africa, women spend 26% of their time fetching water, often walking for miles with heavy buckets balanced on their heads. That's time...

Seasonal allergy sufferers, rejoice! Japanese scientists have deployed an army of anthropomorphic pollen sensors across the country in an...

With an area about the size of New Jersey, Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flat is known as the flattest place on earth. So when NASA needs to...

Decades of war and internal strife have left Cambodia with one of the highest proportions of people disabled by land mines in the world. The...

Professor Martin Schreibman says our oceans have been overfished beyond repair. If we're going to keep eating fish and chips, tuna tartare,...

Scientists in Denmark have developed a plant that turns red when it comes into contact with trace amounts of TNT. If sowed over an area...