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This week on TED.com
January 4, 2014
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14:13 minutes · Filmed Dec 2013 · Posted Jan 2014 · TEDWomen 2013
“I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time,” Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. “I’m like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali.” With grace and wit, the Arab-American comedian takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actor, stand-up comic and philanthropist.
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Playlist of the week
Stunning instrumental performances on the TED stage, from masters of the guitar, violin, drums and … theremin!? Watch »
Total run time 2:27:29
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More from TED.com
Oklahoma City is a midsized town that had a big problem: It was among the most obese towns in America. Mayor Mick Cornett realized that, to make his city a great place to work and live, it had to become healthier too. In this charming talk, he walks us through the interlocking changes that helped OKC drop a collective million pounds (450,000 kilos). Watch »
In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that’s how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at age 64. Hear her story. Watch »
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How do you read a two-thousand-year-old manuscript that has been erased, cut up, written on and painted over? With a powerful particle accelerator, of course! Ancient books curator William Noel tells the fascinating story behind the Archimedes palimpsest, a Byzantine prayer book containing previously-unknown original writings from ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes and others. Watch »
We’ve made incredible advances in technology in recent years, but too often it seems only certain fortunate people can benefit. Engineer Krista Donaldson introduces the ReMotion knee, a prosthetic device for above-knee amputees, many of whom earn less than $4 a day. The design contains best-in-class technology and yet is far cheaper than other prosthetics on the market. Watch »
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Quote of the Week
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Most of the people going to Congress are good, hard-working, intelligent people who really want to solve problems. But once they get there, they find that they are forced to play a game that rewards hyper-partisanship and that punishes independent thinking.”
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Join the Conversation
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Yoko Otake on Mick Cornett: How an obese town lost a million pounds |
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Hearing his talk has reminded me the school project now our city Sapporo is doing. Because of the long winter and heavy snow, the physical strength of our school children has been dropped and obesity has been rising in the national survey. We, adult in a way were spoiling our kids not letting them snow shovel before they go to school. Normally mothers and fathers did. Those who do this are well aware that snow clearing is a very good aerobics training and exercise. Now school authority has realized the effectiveness and they have started the project to let the kids do snow shoveling in the morning for their houses or for the needing neighbors and give them points according to the amount they work. In a few years, their physical abilities would be improved and I’m looking forward to the results!” |
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OVERCOMING
Powerful stories of overcoming a weakness and turning it into a strength. Listen to the latest TED Radio Hour on NPR »
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