A Nova Scotia man out for a walk caught a strange phenomena in the forest near the ocean’s edge. Thankfully, he pulled out his camera to record it. In the video, Brian Nuttall captures the forest floor, rising and falling as if “breathing”. “As I entered a patch of trees spared from clear cutting, I noticed the ground moving,” he says of the incident, which has since gone viral.
After posting the video, many commented that what appears as “breathing” is actually the root systems under the trees is loose and shifting. The natural phenomenon is called soil liquefaction. The solidness of the soil is reduced because of water saturation (and possibly air), which causes the visual effect where it appears that the soil is moving.
The scientific explanation doesn’t make it any less dramatic to watch, as you’ll see for yourself in the video below!
Leland Michael, a public school teacher from Iowa, was in the Walmart school section when two sets of parents stopped him to complain about the number of supplies they had to purchase for their kids. After completing his shopping, he walked to the register where another man also had something to say to the teacher.
But this time things ‘took a very different turn’ – and what Leland observed has since gone viral for all of the right reasons…
Flickr/Random Retail
As soon as Leland got home that day, he took to Facebook to share what happened inside that Walmart and how he was inspired by one person in particular.
He wrote:
“I was feeling pretty jaded this morning as two different sets of parents at Walmart stopped me in the school supplies aisle to complain about how much they had to get their kids this year. ‘This is just ridiculous. I don’t know how these teachers think we are supposed to get all this stuff.’ As they complained, they seemed to be oblivious to the fact that my cart was filled with a class set of all the supplies they were buying–which should have been a pretty clear indication that I was one of those greedy teachers they were complaining about.”Facebook/Leland Michaels“While I was checking out, though, things took a very different turn. I noticed the man in front of me in the checkout lane was buying school supplies for his daughter. As he went to leave, he said to me, ‘You are a teacher, right? I just want to thank you for everything you do. I see your cart is full with supplies, and I just wanted to help out as much as I can.’ Then he handed me a $25 Wal-Mart gift card, shook my hand, and walked away with his daughter smiling big at me. While I was extremely moved by the man’s generosity, the part that stuck with me the most was the difference in his message to his daughter compared with the parents who had been complaining earlier. The kids who heard their parents complaining heard this message: ‘School is not important enough to spend money on it, teachers are not to be trusted and have bad judgement, and learning does not require investment.’ The kid whose dad handed me the gift card heard: ‘School is important enough that we should give more than required to make sure it is successful, teachers should be respected and valued, and learning requires us giving it everything we have.’
If money is tight, and you struggle to buy your child school supplies, I understand. Don’t worry: more than likely your child will have a teacher and a school that makes sure they have the supplies they need to be successful this year. However, as a parent, do your best to send the right message to your child.
The man who gave me the gift card not only made my day, but I also know that his daughter will enter the classroom this year with a very different perspective about her teacher and her education, and that is extremely powerful!”Facebook/Leland Michael
Since Leland posted his story on Facebook it’s gone viral, being shared more than 400,000 times. In addition, he’s received many heartfelt comments that agree with his powerful message.
People all over the country certainly have strong opinions when it comes to the topic of school supplies. But no matter how much you can afford to provide, we can all agree that education is of paramount importance, which is why we need to be good examples when it comes to it.
Milam Kiser, 3, from Shelbiana, Kentucky, has the soul of a star.“The child is a diva,” her mother Amanda told Caters News.
“She loves to dance and absolutely adores music.”Source: Mercury Press/CatersBut Milam isn’t your typical 3-year-old. She and her brother Noah were both born with a rare, genetic condition called osteogenesis imperfecta type III.
When a person has this condition, their bones are very fragile and vulnerable to breaks. It can often be diagnosed in the newborn period when a baby gets fractures just from being held and handled. Although this vulnerability to fractures is one of the main symptoms, according to Rare Diseases, other signs of the disorder include short stature, dental problems, macrocephaly (unusually large head), and hearing loss. Many of those afflicted are not able to walk without assistance.
Source: Mercury Press/Caters“The change is caused by a gene mutation which affects bone formation and structure and can cause dwarfism,” Amanda explained.
“Both Noah and Milam are affected; they are tiny.”“People always ask me if they’re twins even though there are three years between them.”Source: Mercury Press/Caters“She will get fractures very often. Since she was born, she’s had around 60, which have either required casting or splints.”Source: Mercury Press/Caters
Despite Milam’s tiny stature, the little girl has big dreams: she is going to be a ballerina.
As a music lover, the toddler spends lots of time on YouTube. “Milam asked me to go to ballet classes because she watches the other girls on YouTube doing it and wants to be like them,” Amanda said.
As can be imagined, her mother was a bit apprehensive about the suggestion. The little girl was confined to a wheelchair and her condition made physical activity risky. Despite her worries, however, she couldn’t say no to her daughter’s dream.
“She said she wanted to be a ballerina, so I called the instructors, explained about her being in a wheelchair and they were all on board.”In a video recorded by Amanda, you see Milam on the first day of ballet class.
In the opening scene, the little girl shows off her tutu for the camera, bouncing ecstatically on her bed. After about 10 seconds, the scene changes, and then you see Milam in the swing of her class.
Source: Video ScreenshotThe tiny ballerina doesn’t let her wheelchair hold her back, as she points her toes and pirouettes in line with the other girls.
She watches the other students carefully, synchronizing her moves with theirs. “Some of the children were a bit older than her but she really enjoyed herself,” Amanda said. “Usually Milam gets really nervous around the other kids at first, and there may be a few tears, but she really got stuck in.”“She absolutely loved it.”Source: Video Screenshot
Since her first ballet class, Milam has suffered a few falls which have lowered her confidence a bit. “She was so happy when she’d finished the class but she’s really nervous to go back now,” Amanda revealed. Still, this video shows the pure beauty and joy of a little girl finally getting her dream.
P.S. Milam, if you see this, sweetheart— don’t let a few falls keep you down.
Watch her adorable performance below!
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America’s No. 1 inspirational fiction writer Karen Kingsbury can conjure up all sorts of stories about miracles and angels watching over us for her amazing novels. But it wasn’t until she personally experienced a breathtaking moment herself that she realized the full impact divine intervention can have on a person. Karen had trekked to New York City to meet with her publisher. Her daughter Kelsey and her hubby Kyle tagged along so they could soak up the sights of the Big Apple.
YouTube
It was beautiful autumn afternoon and Karen was thrilled that Simon & Schuster would be publishing her latest book and signed on for more. The first thought she had was to call her dad. But her dad had been gone for a while now, having succumbed to a heart attack. Karen fondly remembered the moment when her dad shared how he always thought of his grown kids, his wife and other loved ones whenever he heard the legendary Rod Stewart’s song “Have I Told You Lately.”
YouTube
Feeling a bit blue despite receiving awesome news about her book, the trio headed to the gorgeous High Line Park. The words to Rod’s song floated through her mind while they walked. This song had played at the strangest times in Karen’s life after her father passed away – that was no coincidence. They attempted to take a selfie when a stranger walking by offered to snap the photo for them. He looked at the picture and said, “That’s lovely.” He handed Karen her camera and said, “God bless you” before walking away. Mere moments later, it dawned on Karen and her daughter who the kind stranger was.
It’s sad that in this day and age woman have to worry constantly about being “roofied”. Whether they are on a date or at a party men have taken to slipping “roofies” in females drinks to incapacitate them and then take advantage of them.
Finally enough is enough and women may have a way to protect themselves against the predators they may encounter. This invention is a huge step when it comes to women’s safety.
A brand new form of nail polish for women has been developed. Woman will wear like any other nail polish but it will assist them when it comes to remaining safe in public places. All women need to do is simply dip their fingertip into the drink and wait to see if the nail polish changes color.
While this polish has yet to be released for mass distribution, the men are keeping interested observers completely up to date by providing progress reports on their personal website, as well as their Facebook and Instagram. These efforts will also include a transparent form of the nail polish that can also be used by men.
This nail polish is long overdue! Please be sure to share this with all the amazing woman in your life to keep them safe.
Spear fisherman Danny Henricks is fortunate enough to have survived the type of underwater experience that proves just how dangerous sea creatures can be – and he even caught it all on video.
Henricks, 35, was fishing off the coast of Australia when a bull shark charged at him at full speed, only to impale himself on Danny’s spear gun.
The hair-raising clip has been video more than three million times (and counting) since Henricks uploaded it last month.
The diver was spending his holiday diving off the coast of north Queensland when he suddenly saw the fierce beast emerge from the depths.
“I was going to go for a deep dive, got halfway down… I seen him [the shark] on edge of the channel deep down,” Henricks told a news outlet.
“He didn’t worry me at all, he didn’t care about me, then he saw me, turned and came towards me half-pace… I sort of stopped in the middle of the water,” he said.
“I thought he was going to come towards me half-pace … I thought he was going to suss me out so I was just going to poke him away to show I wasn’t food. I just wanted him to keep me at a distance.”
Henricks says the underwater animal went full charge within the last five to six meters.
“I lunged forward with the gun a little bit just before he got there but most of it was his force,” he said.
Henricks, an experienced diver and fisherman, said he was shocked by the incident.
“I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet because I don’t really understand what’s happened,” he said in an interview last month. “Some people would say not being there in the first place, which I think I have a right to be there.”
Though the incident knocked his confidence slightly, Henricks says that he will continue to spearfish.
He plans to take a dive buddy from now on.
Take a look at the video below and SHARE it with your friends.
If society waits around for governments to solve the most important problems in the world, we’d probably be waiting forever in vain.
That’s why innovators are stepping up to find their own creative solutions.
One of those organizations is a San Francisco based non-profit called New Story. Their goal: “to create a world where no human being lives in survival mode.” They’re going to do that by ending homelessness.
Source: New Story
So far, their organization has built 534 homes in Haiti in eight communities for 1,848 people; 190 homes in El Salvador in five of their communities for 790 people; and 59 homes in one Bolivian community for 177 people.
They are currently building in Mexico. But they are still a long ways away from manifesting their vision.“There are over 100 million people living in slum conditions in what we call survival mode,” Alexandria Lafci, New Story’s cofounder and COO, told Wired. “How can we make a big dent in this instead of just solving incrementally?”Source: New Story
They figured that out while constantly coming up with ways to be more effective efficient. Their answer lied in 3-D printing.
They joined forces with construction technology company ICON print inexpensive 3-D homes.“We feel it’s our responsibility to challenge traditional methods and work toward ending homelessness. Linear methods will never reach the billion+ people who need safe homes,” Brett Hagler, CEO of New Story, told Business Wire. “By working with ICON and leveraging their 3D printing innovations, we’re able to reach more families with the best possible shelter solutions, exponentially faster.”Source: University of Eindhoven
Their collaboration produced a 650-square-foot house built in Austin, Texas that cost only $4,000 to make.
The house, which is a prototype, complies with the local housing code and can be built in one day.
It currently takes them eight months to build 100 homes at $6,000 a pop. If all goes right and New Story has its way, residents in the poorest communities of El Salvador, Bolivia, Haiti, and Mexico will have a safe place to call home.
Source: New Story
They can very well change the entire world. And the promise of 3-D printing technology to construct homes and buildings is, simply put, incredible.
It will create major advancements in affordability, building performance, sustainability, and customization.“You could print a house in the shape of a Fibonacci spiral if you wanted to,” Jason Ballard, cofounder of ICON, explains. “It’s just as simple as printing a square.”Source: YouTube ScreenshotThe printing machine is called the Vulcan. It’s designed to work in places where electricity and potable water might not be available.“Conventional construction methods have many baked-in drawbacks and problems that we’ve taken for granted for so long that we forgot how to imagine any alternative,” Ballard explains. “With 3D printing, you not only have a continuous thermal envelope, high thermal mass, and near zero-waste, but you also have speed, a much broader design palette, next-level resiliency, and the possibility of a quantum leap in affordability. This isn’t 10% better, it’s 10 times better.”Source: YouTube Screenshot
New Story hopes to print up a community of homes in El Salvador within 18 months through partnerships with cutting-edge materials and the highest standards for safety, comfort, and resiliency.
The original model of the home was completely printed on a 3-D printer, except for its roof.
The home includes a living room, small office space, bedroom, porch, bathroom and is absolutely adorable. Human workers installed windows, doors, plumbing and electrical systems. It will be used as office space for ICON until the design is perfected, according to Business Insider.
You can take a tour of the home and see it being built in the video below.
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Brent Gehring’s daughter Emma is only 6-years-old. And despite her young age, she will soon start her seventh round of chemotherapy.
Yes… her seventh round. The chemotherapy is needed to fight a brain tumor.
Most people can’t tell by looking at Emma that she’s sick. But right now her condition makes it difficult for her to get around without a walker. This is why Brent has to sometimes carry her.
Source: EmmaStrong
Brent knew that carrying around a 6-year-old might not be easy. He knew that watching his little girl and his wife go through such a trying experience wouldn’t be easy either.
What he didn’t expect was for people on the streets to pass judgment on his family instead of minding their own business.
But it did happen when he and his family went out to dinner one night and he shared the story on Facebook which ended up going viral.
Source: EmmaStrong“My daughter and I were leaving dinner the other night at Union Oyster House in Boston, MA. A dinner donated to us by an amazing business and friend that has been in our ‘family’ for years,” he explained. “When I crossed the street carrying her, she can’t walk without the use of her walker. A man yelled at me from 30’ away: ‘What the F*+k?’ He yelled. ‘Make her walk. That’s what is wrong with kids today.’”Source: EmmaStrong
Ahh, the age-old “that’s what’s wrong with kids today” bit. We hear angry bitter adults making the same tired argument decade after decade.
The same adults who fail to accept that they are the generation responsible for the raising the very same kids they are complaining about.
Brent was pretty pissed. Not only is this guy cursing and him and his daughter, he is judging his parenting style which is none of his damn business. At this point, Brent had to decide whether to sink down to this guy’s level and beat the crap at him, scream in his face, or teach him a valuable lesson. He chose the latter.
Source: EmmaStrong“I had a choice to make at that time. Can I make myself feel better by screaming at him or can I teach him something about life? I won’t lie to you and tell you that it was an easy choice but I got inches from his face, with my daughter in my arms, and quietly asked him if he was referring to my daughter. ‘Hell yes’ he said,” Brent explains in his post.
Source: EmmaStrong
Let’s just say this guy ended up getting his ass kicked. Not physically, but by the Universe teaching him a lesson he sorely needed to learn.
This is what Brent told the man:“My daughter has been carrying my faith and my strength for the past 5 years since she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She can’t walk but I am happy to carry her because of all the amazing things she has taught me through the years. So I would advise you not address my daughter in any way other than respectful,” he said.
Source: EmmaStrong
The two ended up having a good talk that ended with them both crying. I bet that guy didn’t feel so tough hysterically crying in a public parking lot.
“This story is only important if it serves as a reminder that you don’t always know the whole story so don’t judge others,” Brent said.
But Brent says he learned a lesson that day too. He said the situation served as a reminder that “good can come from any situation.”
Source: Facebook“This post doesn’t come looking for pity for Emma or my family. What I am asking is for a change in today’s world… a change in the way we think. The world is what we as people make it. We have the power to make days better or worse for others. I choose to attempt to make lives better,” he said.
We’ll bet that Emma learned a great lesson that day too from the wonderful example her father made for her.
You can read Brent’s full post below.
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While this polish has yet to be released for mass distribution, the men are keeping interested observers completely up to date by providing progress reports on their personal website, as well as their Facebook and Instagram. These efforts will also include a transparent form of the nail polish that can also be used by men.
If society waits around for governments to solve the most important problems in the world, we’d probably be waiting forever in vain.
That’s why innovators are stepping up to find their own creative solutions.
One of those organizations is a San Francisco based non-profit called New Story. Their goal: “to create a world where no human being lives in survival mode.” They’re going to do that by ending homelessness.
