Just For Fun: 8 TED Talks for Insight, Inspiration and Information

Last week, I wrote about some TED talks relating to identity, consciousness and perception. As I mentioned in that post, I've been watching quite a lot of these talks, so today I'd like to share eight more.

I watched these talks Just For Fun, but still gained something from them, whether it was insight, inspiration, or information.

A garden in my apartment | Britta Riley
In this talk, Britta Riley talks about how she and a friend created a system for growing plants in tiny spaces - namely an apartment window - using old plastic bottles. This DIY project grew to become a worldwide research and development project, with people from across the globe using social media to share their own tweaks and improvements on the original plans.

Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit
Artist Jae Rhim Lee reveals that our bodies create pollution even after death, and explains how the humble mushroom can be used to eradicate that pollution--all through a simple burial suit.

Renny Gleeson: 404, the story of a page not found
A short talk in which Renny Gleeson discusses the 404 error page, and reveals - through some entertaining and clever examples - how the most frustrating error page on the internet can be used to build better relationships.

The shared experience of absurdity | Charlie Todd
In this talk, Charlie Todd talks about his group, Improv Everywhere, and the hilarious and weird scenes they have caused in public, from a no-pants subway ride to dancing in department store windows--all harmless fun that has brought together people of all ages.

Breakfast with strangers: Courtney Dillard at TEDxSalem
A big fan of random acts of kindness, Courtney Dillard and her husband had an unusual honeymoon: they travelled the United States, and bought breakfast for 50 strangers. In this talk, she discusses their adventure, Breakfast with Strangers: 50 Meals across America, and some of the people and stories they encountered along the way.
A really inspiring talk!

Toilet Hackers: John Kluge Jr. at TEDxCharlottesville 2013
John Kluge Jr. discusses the issues faced by some 2.5 billion people who have no clean place to go to toilet - or no toilet whatsoever - and what he and his group, Toilet Hackers, are doing to improve that.
I clicked on this one expecting amusement, but instead I got some education. Good stuff.

10,000 miles in a velcro-covered truck? WTF? Jason Chua and Daniel Makoski at TEDxSanDiego 2013
Working with a group of 20 students, these guys created a 'smart phone maker truck' - a truck covered in velcro and fitted out with equipment such as 3D Printers and hackable phone component - and drove it across America. Their 'MAKEwithMOTO' project was intended to inspire people to make and invent, and in this talk they discuss the process, and some of the outcomes.

15 minutes, 10 tweets and a bottle of wine: Martin Harris at TEDxBucharest
An ambassador for the British Embassy at Bucharest, Romania, Martin Harris talks about...well, wine. In this talk, he reveals the opportunities for Romania on the international stage, the roles the country plays (and may play in the future) and the number of links that have grown over the past 20 years between Romania and the UK.
Another one I clicked on expecting entertainment, but found interesting and educational.


This lot brings my watched TED talks list to 48!