The Branded and Gilded Life

It's no bull. They're bison. They don't need expensive firefighting equipment or gear. And they possibly provide the best protection against natural wildfires. As long as they are allowed to roam the land and eat. Not exactly social animals. But they have appetites that seriously threaten some 'eating contest' winners. Up to 35 kilos of vegetation in a single day. Anyone who says vegetarians are w...

Cold chains in India have many gaps. It's not easy to store things at a constant temperature, given how erratic electric supply is in certain parts of the country. Especially in places where infrastructure is still basic. If it's ice cream, the worst that can happen is that a batch will melt and go bad. For vaccines, the tolerance is far lower - and they are no longer effective if they have been k...

Smart cities are all the rage. For good reason. They are supposed to be the next big thing. Driving higher efficiencies and generating large amounts of data for analysis. We've seen that traffic, health and infrastructure planning helps to map out the ways in which cities should be developed. Tech companies have also been advocates for the establishment of smart cities. But cyber security experts...

When banks have them, it means they've lost a substantial amount of money. When a family sports the tonsured head, they've gifted hair to the lord. Actors and actresses have 'looks' in hit films that define trends for years. The 'Sadhana' cut, with an even set of strands covering the forehead was the rage in the 60s' in Hindi movies. Now, social media makes the rules. The 'Bob Cut' invented by Vid...

It was a simple launch from Apple. But there are several theories circulating around it already. Air tags currently have one function. To locate missing things. Attach them to any object and you won't lose them It's a beacon that radiates and lets you know exactly where they are. So, if it's under a cushion, left on the backseat of a car or well just about anywhere, it's supposed to help you find...

It's one of the prizes of fame. People swarming to get an autograph - and now a selfie. Fame by association. The selfie with a celebrity seems to be the in-thing now. Adoring fans with smartphones held high, pleading for the celebrity to walk into the frame. Followed by frenzied postings on social media with a flurry of likes and emojis. Was the signature mania any different? What happened to thos...

There's no plot. No character arc from bad to good. It starts in a beautiful section of the woods. Sunlight filters through the trees. The natural forest sounds of a river flowing and birds chirping fill the soundtrack. So what do you think happens next? Nothing. It's like someone walked into the forest, set up the camera to run for a few hours and then uploaded it on to YouTube. You would expect...

In the early days of the pandemic last year, there was a run on  toilet paper in the US It was quite mystifying to Indians who have no such needs in bathroom emergencies. But how a product evolves is fascinating, even hilarious. In India, facial and other tissues still constitute a small market of about Rs 1500 crores. For a nation of over a billion, that's a drop in a thunderstorm Handkerchiefs h...

We still go to work every day. Online. We track our steps, our heartbeats, our calories and our social capital. With tiny rushes of adrenalin and fear. We snap pictures but not on old-fashioned cameras anymore. Headphones have become essential. We move through the day from one screen to another, even when we say we aren't addicted. Conversations are hard. Texting is preferred. Our concept of money...

A few days or a few weeks? Apparently, there are people who have kept the pet 'alive' for 25 years . That calls for some serious dedication. An egg-shaped plastic toy with a B&W screen burst on the scene in 1996. The genius move was making rebirth easy. Just a reset after 'death' The 'pet' would be born as a small egg and hatch into a form. All action happened on the screen inside. You decided how...

It was the early 70s. And movies theatres were facing a new attention magnet TV programs. The studios knew they had to get people back into theaters again. Films that would make people long to see spectacles made for big screens Much like the times we are in now but for a totally different reason. Francis Ford Coppola was already a big name with 'The Godfather' having released. But in his drawing...

I didn't either but it's still interesting. A Sydney student's homework has gone beyond his wildest expectations. It's not clear whether he got an 'A' but researchers at Amazon AWS, Yale and Duke University were studying it as well. He's found a way to reduce errors in quantum computers. It's one of those problems that stops progress. Quantum computing works exponentially faster than the computing...

We've all run out of ink and pens at specific points. Asked people at random places and occasions if we can borrow a pen. This product takes into account that behavior. It's small enough to fit on a keychain. And since it's made from a silver composite, it writes on most surfaces. No ink required, so no refills  That solves the problems all ball points have. They dry up if left unused over time. T...

In social media, 'likes' are the currency The more their follower’s number in the millions, the more an influencer can charge for a single brand mention. More than a mass medium could ever hope to for a solo release. Even in prime positions or prime time But this power is limited to an emotional connect and the ability to persuade There are music, film and cricket stars at the top of the pecking o...

A tweet by Paul Graham opened up a window into adult-teenager conversations. Let me reproduce it here because he puts it eloquently: Parenting trick: When your kids reach the sullen teen stage where they don't want to talk to you, drive them places. In the car they forget they're having a conversation. It helps that you're both looking forward instead of at each other. Simple enough? Adults strugg...

He was told he couldn't even jump over a garden chair. And in the beginning, he couldn't. But at the Olympics in Mexico in 1968, Dick Fosbury would invent a high jump technique people laughed at. It looked far from graceful.  As he approached the bar, he turned his back on it and when airborne, flopped his body across in an arc with millimeters to spare. That was also the year the landing pad was...

In the 80s, it was a runaway success. But the campaign 'I love you, Rasna' and the girl who was seen as cute and lovable have been eclipsed. The rise of the colas and their deep pockets shifted consumption habits. The soft drink concentrate powder had to be mixed into drinks - and the flavour seemed artificial to a new generation that was moving to 'real' fruit juices. Even though they were just a...

The average human navigates away from a web page if it doesn't load in seconds. The most studious kids can put in about 6-8 hours in a day but not at a stretch. Think of what a Formula 1 driver takes years to achieve. Unrelenting focus in 2 hour races with no break or lapse in concentration. At speeds of over 200 mph (about 340 kmph), they can't afford a single mistake. Zero tolerance for error. T...

The ones that resembled phone directories are long gone. They used to be a staple of the big chains for holiday shopping over the years. The internet ensured that it was no longer necessary to print them. So why did IKEA move out of a  catalog into a podcast ? And why would anyone want to listen? Put yourself in IKEA's position - catalogs are getting outdated but if they're your most potent market...

Google and Facebook can only point you in the direction of an online purchase. But Amazon is the place to fulfil it - at least a large chunk. So, what happens when Amazon becomes an advertising platform ? In case you haven't noticed, there are now 'Sponsored Products' on Amazon. And those ads are paid for by companies The digital equivalent of in-store advertising in the real world. You've walked...

What is it with the internet and cats? The 'original' of a digital pixelated cat creating a rainbow trail behind it sold recently for $500,000. What's happening here? Digital work that anyone can access selling for huge sums of money. Keep the focus on ownership. Everyone can see the art. Ownership is another matter altogether You can look at the Mona Lisa by walking into the Louvre. But owning it...

Talk about coincidences. The original brain behind Zumba , the world-wide exercise routine was built around a set of dominoes that started tumbling in Cali, Columbia. A city familiar to most people who watched the Netflix series, Narcos. Cali was the capital around which Escobar's empire grew. But the first Alberto, or Berto was a 15 year old dance instructor in the middle of the bedlam. Dancing a...

Most countries aren't anywhere close. South Korea offers a glimpse of what could happen when practically the whole population is online - 96%. Blazing internet speeds and high urban saturation  In addition, the work culture follows the Chinese model - 996.  9 am - 9 pm, 6 days a week. That leaves little time or inclination to go shopping on the one day people get off from work. The company leading...

Before iPods and CDs, there were audio cassette tapes. Now forgotten in the lofts of old houses, you'll still find old collections gathering dust The inventor, Lou Ottens of Eindhoven company, Philips has just passed away at the age of 93. Another milestone in an audio journey that played out over a couple of decades. Cassette tapes attained the heights of their popularity in the late 60s and by t...

When Amit Mishra was jailed in connection with his wife's suicide, it was the worst thing that ever happened to him. When he emerged a year later having proved his innocence, he had built a software solution jail authorities are now adopting across the entire network of prisons, starting with Haryana. The problem he solved - helping people who had served their sentences to appeal for release. In t...