Fast Company Recommended Events June 2009

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tue, june 16
Read
The Tall Book
By Arianne Cohen

If you're a man taller than 6'3" or a woman over 5'9", meet your new bible. Cohen, 6'3", gives talls a pep talk, highlighting research that shows they'll make an additional $789 per inch per year over shorter colleagues. Still feel awkward? Visit the Netherlands, home to the tallest people -- with a copy of this charming book. -- DL

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wed, june 17
Construct
2009 Festival of Architecture and Forum
Montreal

At last year's forum, all 300 attendees donned lobster bibs and "got cacophonous" during the send-off social event, recalls organizer Denise MacDonald. Sadly, she can't guarantee repeat cacophony this year. But she does promise plenty of can't-miss happenings, including a keynote from design guru Jan Gehl and a trade fair featuring the latest architectural technologies and services, such as precast, prestressed concrete. "If you're interested," she adds, "there's also a fancy dinner." Great! We'll have the lobster. -- DM

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thu, june 18
Wash
Clean '09
New Orleans

"I know I'll offend wet advocates, but you can't do everything with water," says Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning, which licenses a liquid-silicone-based dry-cleaning technology. At the biennial World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning, them's fighting words. "Ozone gas injected into water is the strongest sanitizer, and it activates detergent without hot water," says Articlean CEO Mark E. Moore. This isn't quite Bloods versus Crips, since everyone shares a goal: wringing out savings through innovation, much of it green. For instance, a company called AquaRecycle plans to "introduce a product that recycles dryer exhaust," says president Jeff Lebedin. Good clean fun. -- DL

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sat, june 20
Preserve
Opening of the New Acropolis Museum
Athens, Greece

It has taken four architecture competitions and 33 years for the Greeks to settle on a design for the New Acropolis Museum and build the thing. The winning vision -- that of New York architect Bernard Tschumi -- boasts balcony views of the Parthenon and a glass floor that reveals archeological remains underfoot. This museum has a grander purpose: winning back the Elgin Marbles, a set of sculptures removed from the Acropolis and spirited to Britain in the 19th century. Britain has maintained that its world-class museums are the best home for the artifacts. This is Greece's concrete argument that it won't stop until it's got all its marbles. -- Abha Bhattarai

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sun, june 21
Appreciate
Father's Day

When Father's Day was first proposed in the early 1900s, people laughed. Sure, Mother's Day was fine, but Father's Day? Ha! In a letter to the editor, one New York Times reader asked, "What's next, Household Pet Day?" Never mind the ridicule: Father's Day is now celebrated around the world, to the delight of retailers everywhere. In 2008, Americans spent $11 billion on Pop, $700 million of it on greeting cards. But you don't have to shell out to show Dad you love him. An awkward three-minute phone call will suffice. -- ZW