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On March 23, 202, Delta Pilot Chris Dennis left behind a note in the aircraft he was parking in a storage lot in California. Dennis assumed that the note would be found after a two-week quarantine, but after being discovered 435 days later, the note is being referred to as a “time capsule.” Dennis said he parked the plane among dozens of other planes that represented hundreds of jobs. He described the scene as “chilling, apocalyptic, surreal” in a Facebook post. The note he wrote said, “Hey pilots -- It's March 23rd and we just arrived from MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul). Very chilling to see so much of our fleet here in the desert. If you are here to pick it up then the light must be at the end of the tunnel. Amazing how fast it changed. Have a safe flight bringing it out of storage!" The pilot assigned to “wake up” the aircraft and get it out of storage, First Officer Nick Perez, found the note on June 1, 2021. He said the note instantly took him back to the beginning of the pandemic. Last March, Delta announced flight cuts due to the pandemic, and in October the airline reported a $5.4 billion quarterly loss. Perez said many employees assumed they would lose their jobs. “I kept thinking about my mindset now compared to his when he left this note,” Perez said. “We were getting good at landing empty airplanes; now we’re going in the right direction. I’m in good spirits. I’m very optimistic.” Image source: Insider

A college student named Ker posted a TikTok video of a heartwarming voicemail she received from the owner of Taco Tom’s Lonchera in Vancouver, Washington. “Thinking about the time the taco truck man hadn’t seen me in eight months and called me to see if I was still alive,” she captioned the video. Thomas, the taco truck owner, says in the voicemail, ‘this is Thomas, from the taco truck, it’s a long time since I seen you, and I’m worried about you. How are you? I hope you’re good. Ok take care, bye bye.” Ker explained that the voicemail is from 2018, when she was having some health issues. She had been visiting the taco truck regularly for 12 years and did not visit for several months while she was ill. They have each other’s phone number so that she can find out where he is when she wants to stop by. Ker is still a regular visitor at the taco truck, and she made another video as she stopped by one day. TikTok users were so touched by the videos that they sent in donations to support Thomas’ truck. Ker handed him the $351 and praised him for being “humble” and “kind.” “If you are local go by his family truck and support his business,” she continued. After receiving the kind donations, Thomas said, “I just want to say thank you to everybody. I know it’s from your heart.”

To an 8-year-old boy, a Pokémon card collection can mean the world. But for Bryson Kliemann, his dog means so much more. An avid Pokémon collector since the age of 4, Bryson has quite the assemblage of cards. Knowing that these cards can sell for significant sums of money, when his puppy, Bruce, fell sick, he knew he had to do something to help pay for the increasing medical expenses. On May 4th, Bryson set up a stand in his front yard with a sign reading: “Pokémon 4 Sale.” His intention was to use any earned funds to save his puppy’s life. Bruce, a 4-month-old Labrador mix was diagnosed with parvo, a contagious virus that is often deadly for young pups if left untreated. When Bryson’s mother, Kimberly Woodruff, noticed Bruce not eating or coming out of his crate, she knew he needed medical intervention. It was at this initial vet visit that Woodruff learned the vet bills would amount to at least $655 – more than the family could afford to pay. “He is our first family dog,” Woodruff told The Washington Post. “I really didn’t realize how expensive it could be until this happened.” It was when Bryson overheard his parents having a conversation about the mounting bills that he decided to sell his valuable collection in an effort to help lessen the financial strain. And he did just that. Bryson made over $400 in the first two days alone, selling cards for between $5 to $10 each. Some of his neighbors simply donated money in support of his cause. Neighbors also began sharing their own Pokémon collections with Bryson – replacing the one’s he sold in his own collection. Seeing her son’s determination to help their sick dog, Woodruff started a GoFundMe page to further help him achieve his goal and to help other people as well. The page has raised more than $15,000. That money has so far helped pay three other local families’ veterinary bills for their beloved pets. When asked why he would do such a selfless thing, Bryson simply responded: “I didn’t want to lose my friend” – a testament not only to the bond between a boy and his dog, but the genuine nature behind his determination to save this animal’s life, no matter what the cost.

The Global Citizen fundraising concert, called “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World” took place on May 2nd. Hosted by Selena Gomez and with special appearances from Prince Harry, Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Ben Affleck, Nomzamo Mbatha, President and First Lady Biden, Olivia Munn, and Sean Penn, this was a star-studded event. All proceeds went to the ACT-Accelerator, whose mission is to provide for “equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, treatments and other medical tools to the world’s most marginalized communities and healthcare workers on the frontlines.” The concert had major donors, including Mastercard, which pledged $25 million. Cisco and Proctor & Gamble each pledged $5 million. Coca-Cola donated $500,000. Countries also got involved. Canada gave $300 million to fund vaccines, tests, and treatments. Spain, the UAE, and New Zealand all offered its surplus doses. Hugh Evans, the CEO of Global Citizen, expressed his deepest gratitude, “We have been overwhelmed by the support for ‘Vax Live,’ from governments, philanthropists, the private sector, our campaign chairs, and Global Citizens from across the world, who have joined forces to mobilize critical COVID-19 vaccines where they are needed urgently.” Evans also put pressure on other major world powers. He continued, “More needs to be done especially from G7 nations that have yet to commit to sharing any doses. The UK alone will have 113 million surplus doses. We need to continue our efforts to urge the chair of the G7, Boris Johnson, the rest of the G7 and G20 nations, and vaccine manufacturers to share additional doses urgently to help ensure equitable vaccine access globally.” The concert itself, held at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, was attended by several thousand fully-vaccinated fans. It was possibly the biggest concerts in the country since the pandemic began. The in-person concert, as well as the quantity of donations, gives us hope for a return to normalcy.

During World War II, the Soviet Union developed rubber from the dandelion plant. Discovering the proper species did not come easily, they tested 1,000 different types of the plant until they found “the one” growing in Kazakhstan. Flash forward a few years, and now a major tire company in Germany, with the help of scientists at the University of Aachen, are developing a way to use dandelions in the production of rubber tires. Utilizing dandelion rubber would cut back on landfill waste, microplastic pollution, and deforestation. Continental Tires is producing dandelion rubber tires called Taraxagum. The bicycle version of their tires won the German Sustainability Award 2021 for sustainable design. The performance of the dandelion tires was better than natural and synthetic rubber. Dandelions are a prime source for rubber because they can grow almost everywhere, in any climate or topography. It could even grow in polluted land and industrial ruins. The rubber extraction process only requires hot water, unlike the traditional synthetic rubber which requires solvents that create extreme pollution on disposal. Dandelions have many powers. They are a food source for bees, can be a super-food for humans, and even turned into coffee. From blowing them into the wind on a warm spring day to becoming the next big source of rubber, this plant truly is special.

What do you think of when you hear the word "circus?" Clowns? Acrobats? Or does the image of an elephant balancing on a giant striped ball pop into your head? For the past two decades, elephants have been at the forefront of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, aligning the entertainment experience with these gentle giants. Over the past few years, when elephants could no longer balance or parade around, they would be sent to central Florida, where they would live on a reserve – though recent reports have claimed that the reserve that received these elephants may in some way abuse the gentle creatures. After these claims were made public the decision was made to move the elephants. In recent weeks, the former circus elephants have begun the process of moving to another reserve where all forms of potential abuse or mistreatment will cease. At the White Oak Preserve, which currently consists of 135-arces of land in Florida, these elephants are welcomed by miles of forest and grassland, and plenty of watering holes to splash around in. Employees of the wildlife sanctuary say it was very emotional to see the first former circus elephants walk out of the barn into their new lush, green home for the first time. “There was more than one wet eye that day,” said Michelle Gadd to The Washington Post, who leads the White Oak preserve for endangered and threatened species such as cheetahs, rhinos, okapi, zebras and condors. “I really loved seeing one of the elephants just flop down in the forest, close her eyes and have a good solid nap for an hour. Just to see her that comfortable that she’d have a snooze under a palm tree was really beautiful.” Amazingly, some of the elephants have already taken to staying in the forest for days at a time – returning to the barn to retrieve treats from handlers, a move that is closely in line with how they would behave in the wild. In 2016, Ringling Bros. retired all of its elephants after push back from the public. These creatures are now as happy as can be on in their lush sanctuary – with plans to further expand the space to 2500-arces over time, according to Nick Newby, 41, who leads the elephant caretaker team and helped plan the habitat. “We wanted it to be as natural as possible, and we wanted to consider the social dynamic as well,” Newby said. “Elephants are very sociable animals, so we like to study them, see what their personalities are like and then try to mix and match them with other elephants they might like to cohabitate with…It’s our duty to make sure that their future is better than their past, and that their tomorrows are better than their yesterdays.”

Zach Vraa was given an ice cream machine from his mother for his birthday. After he started to work remotely during the pandemic, he found that he had some free time at home. He started experimenting with whipping up different ice cream flavor combinations, one the most bizarrely tasty ones being lucky charms with black cherry frosting. He started posting pictures of his culinary masterpieces online. He was met with a wide demand. People commented below his pictures, asking if they could buy his ice cream. Vraa started out small. He sold about ten pints of each flavor. He must’ve gotten over a thousand requests, many of which he could not fill. Vraa decided to expand. He invested in a commercial kitchen to make his ice cream from scratch. He now makes 300 pints a week. He has two rules, one- he never repeats a flavor and two- nothing is too weird. Seriously, nothing. Not even Everything Bagel ice cream with a garlic cream cheese garnish. Vraa makes one flavor per week and his pints sell out in one minute flat. People line up down the block to pick up their orders. Vraa has turned his hobby into a booming business. When asked about his success, he says seeing the line out the door is a “feeling that never gets old.” Customers can’t wait to see what outlandish combinations he comes up with next. One thing is for sure: they know it will taste good.

Two fishermen walked into a podcast recording studio. They thought they were going for an interview about their harrowing rescue of a 9-year-old girl whose family died in a shipwreck off of the California coast 35 years ago. They left the studio having been reunited with the girl herself—now, a 44 year-old woman whom they hadn’t seen since the accident took place in 1986. In a heartwarming reunion orchestrated by fishing podcast host Philip Friedman, fishermen Paul Strasser and Mark Pisano got to meet Desireé Campuzano. In 1986, Strasser and Pisano’s charter was coming back from Catalina Island. They came upon a capsized boat and a young girl in an orange life vest floating in the ocean. The fishermen rescued Desireé, bringing her onto their boat and returning her to shore. Desireé had been in the water, alone, for twenty hours before Strasser and Pisano came to the rescue. Her mother, father, sister, aunt, and uncle all died in the shipwreck. That day 35 years ago was the last time Strasser, Pisano, and Campuzano ever saw each other. Strasser tells Faith Pinho of the Los Angeles Times that “Desireé was a ghost. "We saved her, she's out in the world. And that's all we know. We had no clues on anybody that knew how to get ahold of her." Meanwhile, Friedman saw an opportunity to connect the now-grown woman with her rescuers via his podcast Friedman Adventures, which delivers nautical narratives to the masses. After Pisano appeared on the show to talk about the rescue story, Friedman was set on tracking down the girl whose life had been saved. When Desireé’s former co-worker, Pablo Peña, listened to that episode of the podcast, he reached out to Friedman to say that he thought he knew the woman whom the fishermen hadn’t seen since their heroic rescue. Peña connected Friedman with Campuzano, and the two then decided to team up in planning the emotional reunion. The fishermen were invited to be guests on Friedman's show to talk further about their rescue story. Meanwhile, Campuzano joined the studio under the alias of “Raquel”, pretending to be a Spanish translator who would prepare the fishermen’s story for Spanish TV. When Campuzano revealed her true identity shortly into the episode, Strasser and Pisano both immediately broke down into tears and finally got to hug the woman whose life they had saved over three decades ago. After reunion, the fishermen brought Campuzano back out onto the ocean for the first time since the shipwreck. They visited the exact site of her rescue, where the three brought flowers as a way to memorialize the family Campuzano lost.

When Graeme Richardson, now 42, proposed to Helen Marshall, now 41, as a teenager, his parents feared they were too young. Now, 22 years later, the couple has finally reconnected for good, getting married with the same ring used at their initial proposal so many years ago. The two lovebirds first admired each other from across the halls of their high school. For nine months, the teens dated, taking romantic walks, attending school dances, and even sneaking in a kiss or two – all the ingredients for a storybook teen love story. It was only after 9 months that Richardson decided to propose – a proposal that would be stopped by the parents of the young adults. A year later, Richardson was off to college and the couple drifted apart. Oddly reminiscent of the plot from Nicholas Sparks’ novel The Notebook, Richardson and Marshall’s story did not end there. The two went on to have other long-term relationships and eventually had children of their own. They reunited from afar when their children attended the same school. When Marshall’s other relationship eventually ended, she took it upon herself to reach out to Richardson to rekindle their love from 20 years prior. It turned out that Richardson too has longed for her for years and got down on one knee to propose once again – with the same ring from 22 years prior nonetheless. On April 17th, the couple tied the knot. In a quote to the Daily Star, Helen said: “We just feel so content now. We live in the family farm he lived in when we were growing up. We’re the other half of each other. I just feel like I’m home. Like I’m whole. He’s my soul mate, and I’m his.” Graeme added: “It just feels like the right ending.” This lucky couple truly achieved the happy ending that so many hope for after reading romance stories. It looks like the Nicholas Sparks’ might not be so far-fetched after all, with this demonstration of true love winning in the end.

A joyous day took a dark turn when Rebecca Chaukria dropped her engagement ring into the waters of England’s largest lake. But for Angus Hosking, all it took was a wetsuit, goggles, and 20 minutes underwater to came up with the piece of jewelry. The rescue story which has turned heads for its dramatic circumstances and quirky charm began when Chaukria and her fiancée, Viki Patel, were taking engagement photos together on a jetty on Lake Windermere. Patel had proposed just two days prior, and the engagement ring was fresh out of the box when it slipped off of Chaukria’s hand. Cue the panic. Patel leapt into the water after the ring, but the frigid and murky waters of Lake Windermere denied visibility. At a loss for what to do, the couple were able to connect with Hosking. The 21-year-old has garnered local fame for his business, Lake District Diving, which helps clean trash and lost valuables from the bottom of Lake Windermere. Hosking responded to the scene with his wetsuit and underwater metal detector. His first reaction to the situation was not encouraging. The diver told CNN’s Sarah Dean that “the visibility [in the water] was absolutely terrible.” Regardless, Hosking’s aquatic prowess prevailed. He came out of the water with Chaukria’s ring in 20 minutes. In exchange for the ring rescue, Patel said Hosking would be welcome to their wedding, pending COVID-19 restrictions. Recently, Lake District Diving has made other splashes in the world of lake rescue. In a May 29th post on their Facebook page, they included a video of a recovery of an iPhone 12 that had sunk to the bottom of Lake Windermere. After 10 hours searching underwater, the Lake District Diving team came up with the phone—which seemed to still be functioning.