Amazing facts

 

A good technology on video call making

 

Japan has developed a phone which shows you 30 to 40 years younger when you make a video call !

This can also help in recognising your old friends.

Think out of the box ... Story of Stock checking!

The owner of an underwear making company was having a tough time with shortage in his factory. On departure for home, all the worker's bags were searched and everything always seemed to be ok. All security measures you can think of were put in place. Auditors were called in, but still no one was caught red handed with even a single underwear yet stock continued to disappear. All workers, including management, were checked on departure, and funny enough, each was wearing just one underwear, and no one was caught with more than one.

Then one day, a very junior worker thought out of the box . It was an idea that was so thought provoking to the boss. Why not check people, as they come instead of when they go out?  Her boss listened to her and the security officer was advised to check all staff on arrival. He got the shock of his life when he found that most of the staff, including some in the management, had no underwear on them on arrival at work ...

Later that junior worker got promoted as the head of Innovation & Strategy at the factory and Associated Group of Companies!

Lesson: Do things differently if you want a different result.

Out of the Box thinking - The story of a clever girl and a horrible money lender

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing  a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag.If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.

A fantastic concept... Swiss Time bank

*Swiss Time Bank*

A student studying in Switzerland observes:

While studying in Switzerland, I rented a house near the school.

The landlady Kristina is a 67-year-old single 

old lady who had worked as a teacher in a secondary school before she retired.

Switzerland's pension is very good, enough to not worry her about food and shelter in her later years.

However, she actually found "work" - to take care of an 87-year-old single old man.

I asked if she was working for money.

Her answer surprised me:

“I do not work for money, but I put my time in the ‘time bank’, and when I cannot move in my old age, I could withdraw it.”

The first time I heard about this concept of "time bank", I was very 

curious and asked the landlady more.

*The original “Time Bank” was an old-age pension program developed by the Swiss Federal Ministry of Social Security. People saved the 'time' taking care of the elderly when they were younger, and when they were old, ill or needed care could withdraw it.*

Applicants must be healthy, good at communicating and full of love. Everyday they have to look after the elderly who need help.

Their service hours will be deposited into the personal 'time' accounts of the social security system.

She went to work twice a week, spending two hours each time helping the elderly, shopping, cleaning their room, taking them out to sunbathe, chatting with them.

According to the agreement, after one year of her service, *"Time Bank”* will calculate her working hours and issue her a “time bank card”.

When she needs someone to take care of her, she can use her “time bank card” to “time to withdraw “time and time interest”. After the information verification, “Time Bank” will assign other volunteers to take care of her at the hospital or her home.

One day, I was in school and the landlady called and said she fell 

off the stool when she was wiping the window. 

I quickly took leave and sent her to the hospital for treatment.

The landlady broke her ankle and needed to stay in bed for a while.

While I was preparing to apply for a home to take care of her, the landlady told me that I need not worry about her.

She had already submitted a withdrawal request to the “Time Bank”.

Sure enough, in less than two hours "Time Bank" sent a nursing worker to come and care for the landlady.

In the following month, the care worker took care of the landlady everyday, chatted with her and made delicious meals for her.

Under the meticulous care of the carer, the landlady soon recovered her health.

After recovering, the landlady went back to "work". She said that she intends to save more time in the "time bank" while she is still healthy.

Today, in Switzerland, the use of "time banks" to support old age has become a common practice.

This not only saves the country pension expenses, but also solves other social problems.

Many Swiss citizens are very supportive of this kind of old-age pensions.

The survey conducted by the Swiss pension organization shows that more than half of Swiss people also want to participate in this type of old-age care service.

The Swiss government also passed legislation to support the "Time Bank" pension scheme.

At present the number of "empty-nest old people" in Asian countries are increasing and it has gradually become a social problem.

Switzerland style "time bank" pension may be a good option for us too.

*What an interesting concept... hope it gets adapted all over the world soon !!!*