Global Day of Play

Almost exactly a year ago, a kid named Caine got bored at his dad's auto shop and made an arcade out of a bunch of cardboard boxes. A guy who needed a part for his car stopped by and saw Caine's arcade, and became its first customer. The guy also happened to be a filmmaker, and he made a little documentary about Caine and his arcade:



The Kickstarter campaign generated over $200,000 for Caine's college fund.

And then it kept going. Caine and the filmmaker issued a challenge to kids everywhere, urging them to get out and make things and innovate.
So a year later, there's a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging kids to innovate and learn and explore, and an associated Global Day of Play, when everybody all over the world can create and play and learn, just like Caine.



Pretty neat.

Amazing 15-Year Old Scientist Improves Pancreatic Cancer Test

Jack Andraka can't vote, and he can't drive. Yet. But what he can do is to invent a cheap, accurate test for pancreatic cancer, which

detects pancreatic cancer 168 times faster than current tests. It’s also 90% accurate, 400 times more sensitive, and 26,000 times less expensive than today’s methods. 

(Via Fast Company) 

This is Jack, speaking at TED, a global ideas conference:




(Jack Andraka at TED@NewYork talent search. June 7, 2012. New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash. Via the TED flickr photostream.)

And here's his talk (it's pretty amazing):

He started his research because a friend's brother was killed by pancreatic cancer, and Jack felt that he wanted to do something to help. Not only that, but after he came up with his idea, he contacted research institutions all over the country, hoping for someone who would help develop and implement it.

What an awesome kid.

New Procedure Saves Poisoned Dog and May Save People Too

It was a nightmare situation for Helen Abel. Her two-year-old Mini Australian shepherd, Kasey, had eaten death cap mushrooms at an oak grove in Healdsburg during a walk. Mushroom poisoning kills many pets and sadly the prognosis did not look good for Kasey. Godd fortune smiled however, when it was discovered that  Dr. Todd Mitchell at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz was currently in the middle of testing a new drug which could potentially save people with mushroom poisoning. During his tests, he had discovered that while the drug he was working on had a high chance of success, there was also a surgical procedure which might save lives as well.

The procedure involved draining toxic bile from the victim's gallbladder and Kasey seemed to be the perfect test subject to see if this would help. Vetrinarians performed the surgery and sure enough Kasey began getting better and better. She has made a full recovery now and her miraculous survival is a good sign for people suffering the same fate. Dr. Mitchell intends to attempt the same procedure on people in rural areas who suffer from poisoning but for whom the drug he is developing might not be available.

Dying Man's Last Wish Was To Give Unsuspecting Waitress A Great Tip

When 30 year old Aaron Collins passed away on July 7th, 2012, his dying wish was for his family to pool together to give a $500 tip to a random waitress at a local pizza shop. His family honored that wish by starting a website where they took donations to help come up with the money. They quickly found themselves with the $500 and they headed out to a restaurant called Puccini's where they presented the tip to a very surprised young woman. Aaron never met this waitress, didn't know her name, and none of that mattered. The act was purely one of selflessness and doing something kind for someone.

His family is now collecting for another such surprise and hopes to keep this trend going for years to come. To see a video of the waitress receiving this wonderful surprise, click here.

The Nicest Place on the Internet

Sometimes you just need a hug.

Be sure to visit http://thenicestplaceontheinter.net/ for the full experience (it's really lovely).

Man Who Saved Over 600 Kids from Nazis Gets a Touching Surprise

50 years after Sir Nicholas Winton saved the lives of 669 children held in Nazi death camps, the children (now all grown up), got a chance to thank him, in person, on live TV.

He's very stoic, but... wait... does he have something in his eye? A bit of dust, perhaps. (You'll probably have something in your eye when you watch, too.)

Dog's Life Is Saved After Tearful Goodbye Spurs A Vet Into Action

When Kayla, the beloved family dog of the Martinez family, slipped on concrete and fell on a spike, her family was left in dire straights. They could not afford the kind of vet bills it would have taken to save the dog's life and after all their home remedies failed, they knew they couldn't leave her in suffering. The family did what they felt was best and took Kayla to their vetrinarian to be euthanized.

Ten days later, they received a call from the SPCA asking them to come back. When they arrived, it was for the shock of a lifetime. The pet they had been grieving was alive and well. The staff at the vetrinary clinic had been moved by the tearful goodbyes of the Martinez family and they completed the life saving surgery for free. Kayla is now reunited with the family whose love was enough to save her.

You can read more here.

Unemployed Hero Lands A New Job

It's not every day that a baby leads directly to a new job but for one heroic New Yorker, that's exactly what happened. Delroy Simmonds, 30, was standing on the platform of a NY subway waiting for the train that would take him to a job interview when the unexpected happened. A gust of wind had blown baby David Zamara right out of his mother's care and onto the train tracks. Without any hesitation, Delroy leapt down and lifted the baby to safety while the train screeched to a halt.

While this act of heroism did cost him the interview he had hoped to go to that day, it also gained him a great number of other job offers once the story got out of what he'd done. 

Read more here. 

Peach's Neat Feet!

Madison Steiner is a pretty incredible woman. She's an artist who found an incredible way to help children with disabilities and long term illnesses. What she gives is so much more than shoes...it's hope.

Enjoy your day!

The Kindness Offensive!

It seems like the idea of spreading random kindness is growing world wide. People are fed up with bad news and unhappiness so there are a large number who have chosen to do something about it. One such group is The Kindness Offensive in the UK. This incredible team started with only three members who just wanted to make a difference and they've certainly managed that. Enjoy the video below and I dare you not to smile while watching it!

Man Helps Over 1000 Animals

The beings that need us most are often the ones who can't ask for that help. Many animal shelters find themselves a little overrun dealing with all the stays in their care but one team is helping to alleviate the problem and saving quite a few lives along the way. Pilots and Paws is an organization that flies pets from overwhelmed kill shelters to areas where they stand a much better chance of being adopted. On June 21st, 2012, pilot Jeff Bennett saved his 1000th animal. 

Is it me or did it get dusty in here all of a sudden? *sniffle*

Coke Catches People In Acts Of Kindness

These days privacy is a precious thing. It seems like there are cameras everywhere since every person on the street is likely equipped with a cell phone boasting at least 5 megapixels. Usually the videos captured by these devices only come to our attention when they inadvertantly catch criminals but recently Coca-Cola searched through their security cameras and put together all the footage of people they caught doing kind acts instead. So sit back, smile, and remember that the people caught on this tape didn't know they were being recorded so all of these acts are genuine.

Have a great day!!