Survivor Stories

Survivor stories hold a primal appeal. In the bleakest of circumstances, we’re drawn to tales of what the human spirit can endure.

In 2010 we searched the Web for news about people in extreme circumstances, as local communities, countries, even the world came together to root for the survivors. Some of the most dangerous jobs were involved: Two sets of miners on opposite sides of the globe survived accidents deep underground, against the odds. An explosion on an oil rig highlighted another dangerous workplace.

Young people who survived a plane crash, kidnappings, and shipwrecks drew sympathy and admiration, even as those events raised questions about how to keep our children safe. A failed terrorist attack in the heart of New York City, with hundreds of people in the vicinity, sent a shiver through the nation. And an American military mission that defined an era and a presidency came to a close, after seven years and thousands of U.S. lives lost.

These are the stories that people sought out in 2010.

–Cicely Wedgeworth

Cicely Wedgeworth is a Yahoo! editor who also writes the Chowhound Digest for the San Francisco Bay Area. She previously wrote and edited for the Los Angeles Times.