Articles with 600-800 Words

The summer of 2014 was all about people pouring orange buckets of ice water over their heads and challenging others to do the same. But as fun as it was, the individuals were not just goofing off. They were rising to the Ice Bucket Challenge that encouraged people to either douse themselves or donate $100 USD towards ALS research. The dare that went viral globally enabled the Foundation to raise an astounding $115 million USD in a few short months. Now, just a year later, the generous donation is helping facilitate new breakthroughs in the disease that currently has no cure....

With childhood obesity rates on the rise, schools are going all out to encourage students to become more active and make healthier food choices. Some have added standing desks; others have revamped their cafeteria menus. In Dillwyn, Virginia, the educators have gone one step further - They have designed a school that incorporates movement and healthy eating....

Freestyle motocross maestro Robbie Maddison is well-known for his heart-stopping stunts. In 2008, the Australian daredevil wowed the world with a leap over the 164-feet tall Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. In 2014, he performed several back flips over stationary airplanes at the military service aircraft graveyard in Tucson, Arizona. However, neither compare to his latest stunt - "Surfing" a wave on a slightly modified KTM dirt bike....

An agricultural experiment called Nemo's Garden is taking farming to a new level - about 20-feet below the ocean's surface! The endeavor is the brainchild of Italian entrepreneur and scuba diving enthusiast Sergio Gamberini who wanted to combine his passion for diving and farming to create a sustainable food source without disturbing the underwater ecosystem....

Tossing food at total strangers is not something that is acceptable in most settings. However, at the La Tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain, it is not just accepted but encouraged. That's because the whole purpose of the event that is held annually on the last Wednesday of August is to pelt friends and total strangers with as many tomatoes as possible....

The Japanese have always been at the forefront of deploying robots to perform jobs that are traditionally done by humans. Over the past year, humanoid robots have been seen helping customers at Mitsubishi Bank, selling Nestle's espresso machines and even filling in for human science communicators at museums. Hence, it is not surprising to hear that the country is now home to a hotel that is staffed almost entirely by the Androids!...

In June, the City Council of Utrecht in The Netherlands announced that starting January 2016, a few lucky residents will receive a monthly stipend to cover their basic needs with no strings attached. That means that the recipients will have to do nothing in return and can spend the rest of their days lounging by a pool if they so wish....

Often the most incredible innovations come in the tiniest packages. That is certainly true for the origami robots created by some Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. The microbots that made their debut earlier this summer at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Seattle, WA, are not just adorable. They also possess skills that may come in handy to combat human ailments....

Cheers erupted at "Plutopalooza" parties all across the United States as the New Horizons spacecraft soared past the dwarf planet at 7:49 am EDT on Tuesday, July 14th. The historic encounter that brought the spacecraft within 7,800 miles of Pluto, successfully ended the three billion mile journey that began almost a decade ago....