People Doing Stuff. Strangely compelling.
posted by flatluigi on Nov 7, 2009 - 48 comments

Philip Bloom's: Venice's People; Dublin's People; San Francisco's People; Sofia's People. Vimeo vids.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy on Nov 3, 2009 - 17 comments

One in 8 Million "New York is a city of characters. On the subway and in its streets, from the intensity of Midtown to the intimacy of neighborhood blocks, is a 305-square-mile parade of people with something to say. This is a collection of a few of their passions and problems, relationships and routines, vocations and obsessions. A new story will be added weekly." A photo and audio series from the New York Times. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Aug 22, 2009 - 53 comments

The Ragpicker's Dream (Short). World at Work: Brazilian Ragpickers. What it feels like to be a Ragpicker. Their contradictions, and a mobile home for them to sleep in.
posted by hadjiboy on Aug 9, 2009 - 3 comments

A recent survey found that nice people are paid less. But as one Times reporter found, politeness can be its own reward.
posted by nam3d on Jul 25, 2009 - 37 comments

Amazing Pooktre Sculptures. A gallery of living art. Previously. (with bonus extra Previouslies inside!)
posted by hippybear on Jun 27, 2009 - 10 comments

The Parsis of India: Their Photo Collection, a brief History and more. [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy on May 18, 2009 - 13 comments

"I photograph people who skirt the edges of things; people whose connection to the broader flow is murky or obscured. Mistaken as more, less or different than they are; they aren’t really seen and don’t really belong. That’s everyone sometimes; but some more often. I try to establish a line for a moment. I hope to connect. And I see the most beautiful and the most heartbreaking things."
posted by parudox on May 10, 2009 - 34 comments

Naked People.
posted by swift on Mar 20, 2009 - 113 comments

What if you were one of the Rohingya people, and you faced death in trying to escape, or were expelled from your Homeland. Would you wait for others to help, or would you try and do it yourself...
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 28, 2009 - 6 comments

Photographs of The Great Depression of the 1930's to 1940's (previously), and an interview with a survivor growing up during those hard times... posted before on Mefi, here.
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 24, 2009 - 7 comments

Flight No. 3407 crashes in Buffalo, New York. This, after the flight that landed in the Hudson, and all the people were saved. The Plane crash on YouTube as of now.
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 12, 2009 - 111 comments

India--the country of the Taj Mehal--known for it's love. But wait, there's more sadly, a lot more.
posted by hadjiboy on Jan 16, 2009 - 22 comments

I just love to watch old people dancing. I hope that when I'm this old, I'll be able to do the same!
posted by not_on_display on Jan 9, 2009 - 35 comments

Want to be a good neighbor but don't know how? Now there are checklists! (Chicago and SF focus) [more inside]
posted by puckish on Nov 17, 2008 - 17 comments

A People's History for the Classroom [pdf] is a high school history lesson plan/workbook based on Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. The entire 124-page workbook available for free as a downloadable PDF, as part of the Zinn Education Project, supported by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change. You must enter an email and agree to take a later survey to download.
posted by Miko on Aug 20, 2008 - 60 comments

MeFite scrumtralescent thought it would be fun to interview people who dared to take a chance and do something cool or exciting, like leaving their jobs to travel for a year, picking up an unusual hobby or starting their own business, and then share these interviews via a website for all to enjoy. So she did, and the result was 'The Life Less Traveled: How Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things…And How You Can, Too!' [via mefi projects]
posted by Effigy2000 on Jul 5, 2008 - 13 comments

Where the hell is Matt? The 2008 version is oddly moving. Be sure to watch the high quality version. (Previously)
posted by monospace on Jun 27, 2008 - 103 comments

How To Clean Stuff. From kitchen and bath, to flooring and carpets. Indoors, outdoors, your car, dog, colon and bong. More than 800 cleaning tips in all. Submit your best ideas. Each one that gets published, the site will contribute to the Clean Water Fund.
posted by netbros on May 29, 2008 - 5 comments

Fake terror. The Banana theory of terrorism. While I'm at it, fake Lutheran Ascetecism, fake bread, fake gay sex, fake DIY, fake beer (fur der Deutsch), fake punk petition, fake shopping, fake yogurt, and fake cops.
posted by parmanparman on Feb 16, 2008 - 20 comments

Hollywood Midget Movie Stars. They started as popular vaudevillians. (From a review: "The chief feature, however, was the ten scenes in which the Singer Midgets appeared. The Midget strong man, the Midget conjurer, the Midget "Cleopatra" with the winning ways--these and many more were there.") They stormed the New York stage. They were members of The Lollipop Guild (YouTube link), as well as playing other Munchkins. They were suspected of being German sympathizers. But they may be best remembered for starring in the world's first all-midget musical western. Now available for your viewing pleasure from YouTube: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
posted by Astro Zombie on Jan 21, 2008 - 32 comments

Study: Internet Not Dumbing Down Kids, Who Were Stupid Anyway. Full report! (warning: PDF) The information literacy of young people, has not improved with the widening access to technology: in fact, their apparent facility with computers disguises some worrying problems. Young people have unsophisticated mental maps of what the internet is, often failing to appreciate that it is a collection of networked resources from different providers. (Like tubes!)
posted by parmanparman on Jan 20, 2008 - 43 comments

People in Order - Age. Love. By Lenka Clayton and James Price. [more inside]
posted by spec80 on Jan 11, 2008 - 9 comments

Matt Stuart | Photographer | Shoots People [more inside]
posted by psmealey on Nov 22, 2007 - 12 comments

Unusual Life Dot Com: Unusual Homes. Amazing Architecture. Strange Places. Fascinating People.
posted by dersins on Oct 9, 2007 - 13 comments

People pictures; Or, Photographs by Mole and Thomas, E.O. Goldbeck, and Others, Taken Between the years 1915 – 1920, and Consisting of Many People Lined Up and Posed in Such a Way that they Resemble Human Heads, the Statue of Liberty, Eagles, and Other Great Patriotic Symbols of This Nation.
posted by Astro Zombie on Jul 11, 2007 - 16 comments

An Earth Without People. An interesting (and I am sure it will be debatable) article in the current issue of Scientific American. Personally, I have always liked Douglas Coupland's version too
posted by ShawnString on Jun 20, 2007 - 42 comments

Six Billion Others. [flash] Everyone has a story.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on May 19, 2007 - 16 comments

Blogging for the technically challenged.
posted by bobbyelliott on Apr 21, 2007 - 55 comments

Emily, a history major at Princeton University, took a seat. “I am upset by the Iraq War, but I don’t focus on it, because it’s a negative energy,” she said. “I think we are overanalyzing the situation. I mean, here we are at Bungalow 8!” Via Wonkette, natch.
posted by unSane on Feb 15, 2007 - 103 comments

www.Wherethehellismatt.com Mostly, he's dancing :)
posted by dash_slot- on Jan 21, 2007 - 85 comments

Laughter seems to be just as contagious as yawning.

(Popcorn Post, Youtube, Old People, Babies, Southerners, A kitten, and the word "Cuteums")
posted by Lord_Pall on Jan 4, 2007 - 20 comments

Gregory Colbert's Ashes and Snow has been linked to twice before on Metafilter. However, you can now view 10 minutes of his film as part of his Ted Talk--it's the most stunning nature footage I've ever seen. In the talk he also mentions a new concept he's developing called Animal Copyright, which I think is long overdue.
posted by dobbs on Jan 2, 2007 - 29 comments

People are strange when you're a stranger.
posted by Robot Johnny on Nov 24, 2006 - 60 comments

Imagine Earth Without People A great, non-hysterical article about what Earth would be like if we all, one day, vanished.
posted by BuddhaInABucket on Oct 12, 2006 - 71 comments

WSJ: Moguls of New Media Have nearly a million friends on MySpace and you get $5000 endorsements. Make a comedy podcast with cocktail recipes and you get endorsed by Steve Jobs and get interest from advertisers. Post seemingly impossible self-potraits on Flickr and you get hired by Toyota. The Wall Street Journal looks at these and many more "whos' who of new media". from BlogHer
posted by divabat on Aug 1, 2006 - 22 comments

Brooklyn (via Grow a Brain)
posted by caddis on Jul 16, 2006 - 40 comments

The Symmetry Thesis
posted by Tlogmer on Jun 6, 2006 - 37 comments

The Six Thousand: 6000 [well, at least twenty or so right now] intriguing people you want to meet online before you die, edited by Cliff Pickover. My fave right now? Asya Schween.
posted by exlotuseater on Feb 27, 2006 - 41 comments

Seen anyone on Google Earth lately?
posted by divabat on Feb 17, 2006 - 33 comments

The past can be a fascinating place. An Anthropologist by training and finder of interesting things by avocation, Hugh Blackmer, began rescuing old photos from antique shops on Nova Scotia (the former Acadia) several decades ago. He's now posting them on-line for his Nova Scotia Faces project. He's using Flickr and experimenting with a wiki. He's finding some wonderful old moments.
posted by mmahaffie on Jan 12, 2006 - 16 comments

"I am standing at the traffic lights when the woman next to me, lost in her thoughts, suddenly bursts out laughing. Then she immediately covers her mouth with her hand and glances around, embarrassed. This gives me an idea. I phone the photographer Stephen Gill. 'Let's walk around looking for people who are laughing to themselves because of something they've just thought of,' I say. 'When we find them, you take their photograph and I'll ask them what they were thinking about that was so funny.'" Jon Ronson sets out to discover the secret source of joy.
posted by Blue Stone on Dec 10, 2005 - 31 comments

Donavan Freberg (son of Stan) appeared in Encyclopædia Britannica's 1980s commercials and became something of a pop culture icon (and target). But before pitching reference books, he had a surprisingly eccentric childhood, not even getting a name until he was five. In the meantime, he has done other things and, of course, started blogging. Also, he likes the ladies (NSFW).
posted by tregoweth on Nov 21, 2005 - 21 comments

Those crazy Scientologists are at it again. This time, a New Zealand website owner has been ordered to relinquish his clever domain name, scienTOMogy.info under threat of legal action. The site, an ugly-looking collection of links to other Scientology-debunking websites, serves as a clearinghouse for information about one of the church's most notorious members, Tom Cruise. CoS claims the domain is similar enough to their official website address to be confusing to Internet users.
posted by wakko on Oct 19, 2005 - 42 comments

Research by dumb, ignorant Yankees on national stereotypes.
posted by Gyan on Oct 7, 2005 - 30 comments

Hugh Sawyer is an Oxford law graduate. He wears a Gieves & Hawkes suit and works at Sotheby's, London. He also lives in a ditch.
posted by Blue Stone on Sep 4, 2005 - 41 comments

English names for groups various creatures are often bizarre. Many of the stranger collective nouns came from the Boke of St. Albans. Most lists don't include a "parliament of rooks" any longer. Lists of collective animal names are available for children and adults. Though, oddly there doesn't seem to be a collective name for humans as a species, numerous names (mostly silly) exist for types of human groups. Dispute does exist in the world of collective nouns. Officially monkeys are grouped in "troops", but most people would agree that the proper term for a group of monkeys is barrel . However debate seems to have been closed on the subject of the proper term for a group of tentacle monsters (NSFW). Of course, you have to know how the proper grammar when using collective nouns.
posted by sotonohito on Aug 10, 2005 - 33 comments

The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire.
posted by plep on Jul 8, 2005 - 11 comments

Located west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the tropical Island of Nias is renowned for its traditional buildings and archaic stone sculptures. In the 1920's, Danish doctor Agner Møller studied the local culture and language and created a unique collection of art, artefacts and photographs from Nias for the National Museum of Denmark.
posted by breezeway on Apr 18, 2005 - 4 comments

The art of Double Dutch: Whatever happened to the that tricky urban past time Double Dutch? The savvy dames from Harlem made it famous and continue to keep it competitive. How about the Double Duchess' jumping in schoolgirl plaids and kitty suits? Even Fat Albert can keep the legacy hip. Video's galore.
posted by Viomeda on Apr 8, 2005 - 25 comments