In 1921, Ada Blackjack sailed to the Arctic’s Wrangel Island. She had no idea it would be a life and death struggle to survive. The petite woman was hired as a seamstress for the risky journey. Her travel companions were four men and a female cat, called Vic. Blackjack was born in 1898 in Alaska. She was a Native American Inupiat woman, but raised by white Methodist missionaries. They taught her to cook, clean, sew, and read the bible. They didn’t teach her the hunting and survival skills of her native tribe.
A Life-Saving First Kiss
When Max Montgomery met Andi Traynor for a first date, he had high hopes. They went surfing on a California beach early in the morning and had a great time. Exhausted and happy, the couple left the ocean. Then, out of the blue, 56-year-old Max collapsed. He lay on the sand, silent and still. Fortunately, Andi was a doctor, whose years of training kicked in. She immediately began to perform CPR.
Breath Of Life
Everything goes black. Tricia Kennedy thinks she is dead. It feels peaceful until the pain sets in. Then it is excruciating. The noise is deafening. The light is blinding. She realizes that she has been shot in the head. Kennedy was in a shooting competition when a bullet accidentally hit her. Luckily, a nurse was nearby and ran to her aid. Kennedy’s heart rate was dangerously high and the nurse told her, “You must breathe. You are going into shock, and we’re going to lose you.”
Saved By The Power Of Music
Professional musician Robin Spielberg says music saved her daughter’s life. In 1998, Spielberg was pregnant with twin girls when she suffered complications. An emergency cesarean was performed during the 22nd week of pregnancy. Sadly, one of the twins passed away, but Valerie survived.
Sleep Saves Lives
Vietnamese man, Thái Ngoc, got a fever in 1973 and hasn’t slept since. You would expect his life to be a train wreck, but he claims to be going strong. He is a farmer and has no problem doing manual labor to support his family. He even spends some nights doing extra farm work.
Formula For Happiness
In 1922, Albert Einstein was staying in a hotel in Tokyo. Without any money to tip a hotel deliveryman, he instead gave him a couple of notes on hotel stationery about happiness and success. While the man was probably unable to read the advice, he recognized their value and held on to them. In October of this year, the deliveryman’s nephew sold the notes for 1.3 million dollars.
Typos Can Be Life Or Death
Typos are careless spelling or punctuation mistakes. They are usually minor, but not always. Sometimes these small mistakes can cost millions of dollars. NASA, the US space agency, made a little mistake in 1962 that had a big impact. Their spacecraft, called “Mariner 1”, was launched in 1962 with the goal of flying by the planet Venus. The spacecraft was robotic, so there were no people onboard. Because of this, its navigation was controlled by software. Unfortunately, the person in charge of writing the software forgot one character – a hyphen. This missing hyphen caused the software to malfunction. The spacecraft exploded after takeoff, costing NASA $80 million!
Dog Saves Man With Broken Neck
This past New Year’s Eve, a 64-year-old Michigan man took a fall that almost cost him his life. At 10:30 pm, Bob took a break from watching football on TV and stepped outside. He was going to get wood for the fire when he slipped on some icy steps. As he lay in the snow, without a jacket, he knew that he was in serious trouble. He had broken his neck and couldn’t move. Bob’s wife was visiting her parents, and he was all alone. He screamed for help, but his nearest neighbor was far away. No one heard him except for his loyal dog Kelsey.
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