No. 3: KidSwing
The catalyst: Ben Sater was 3 years old when he received his first surgery on his pinky and thumb for trigger finger, a condition that causes fingers to lock in a bent position. When he was 10, he had surgery on three other fingers at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for…
Inspiring Acts
Inspiring Acts Abby’s Lemonade Daily Ocean KidSwing Operation Beautiful Wonder Capes Friendfactor Phoebe’s Food Bank Donald Arthur Secret Agent L An Angel in Queens Changing the world starts with one simple act. In difficult times, stories of heroic endeavor always hearten us. But sometimes what motivates us are the everyday…
No. 1: Abby’s Lemonade
The catalyst: Eight-year-old Abby Enck frequently accompanied her 6-year-old brother, Cameron, born with cerebral palsy, to Lutheran General Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. “It’s hard having a sibling with a disability,” admits Abby’s mother, Becki Enck. “She loves her brother and is such a caring and thoughtful little girl.”…
No. 2: Daily Ocean
The catalyst: For as long as Sara Bayles could remember, she’s loved the ocean. She saw it as a magical place that holds endless hours of exploration and wonderment. Bayles has always felt a natural inclination to protect the environment and look after wild animals, but she didn’t know how…
No. 10: How to Boil an Egg
Eggs had finally left behind their bad reputation as artery cloggers, and then in 2010 they got caught up in the most massive food recall in years. Nearly 2,000 Americans got sick from eggs contaminated with salmonella, possibly from infected chicken feed in Iowa. But the recall didn’t seem to…
No. 9: What Causes Lightning?
More than three centuries after Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment, the cause of lightning is still a bit mysterious. Scientists believe that static electricity is the root cause of lightning flashes. In a storm, water and ice particles in a cloud collide, which causes a negative electric charge to form. To…
No. 8: What Is Love?
How many ways to love in 2010? Count ’em up. Drunk love: Vinny telling Snooki that she takes his breath away, even though she’s orange. Fan love: people camping out overnight to get tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. Hopeful love: Larry King calling off his divorce from wife No….
No. 7: Which Natural Disaster Shortened Earth’s Days?
Feel like the days are getting shorter? Well, they did. On February 27, 2010, the massive 8.8 earthquake centered in Maule, Chile, torqued the earth so hard that our planet’s axis shifted — though not so much that you’d notice. According to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, computer models…
No. 6: Which City Has the Best Tap Water?
Paranoia about what comes from the tap runs long and deep. Ironically, much of the bottled water consumers buy to avoid tap water comes from the tap too. So, which city has the best tap water, and how do you find out if yours is good? For New Yorkers, water…
No. 5: What’s the World’s Only Immortal Animal?
Sorry, Team Edward: The world’s only immortal animal doesn’t have pale marble skin, artfully disheveled bronze hair, or topaz eyes that pierce your soul. The world’s sole immortal animal is downright unsexy. Meet the Turritopsis dohrnii, a jellyfish that scientists in 2009 declared “the only immortal animal” in the world….