30 Real-Life Stories That Are Nothing Short Of ‘Fascinating’
By
Aleena in
Interesting
On 16th September 2023
Exploring our amazing world is like an endless adventure, my friend. No matter how much you read, watch, or listen, there's always more incredible stuff out there just waiting to be discovered. That's what makes it so cool!
We've gathered a ton of fascinating facts and mind-blowing true stories that will absolutely blow your mind. Get ready to dive into this list - it's going to take you on a thrilling ride and introduce you to all the incredible things our world has to offer!
#1 In 2019, A 5-Year-Old Michigan Boy Invitied His Kindergarden Class To Witness His Adoption. His Entire Class Showed Up
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#2 Chen Si Is A Man Who Spends His Weekends Visiting The Largest Bridge In China To Prevent People From Jumping. He Has Saved Over 300 People
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#3 In 2001, Kenny Waters, wrongly imprisoned 18 years, freed thanks to his dropout sister turned lawyer.
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#4 In 1996, mother cat Scarlett saved her 5 kittens from a burning NYC building, braving flames 5 times.
Scarlett had been severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her eyes were blistered shut, her ears and paws burned, and her coat highly singed.
The majority of her facial hair had been burnt away. After saving the kittens she was seen to touch each of her kittens with her nose to ensure they were all there, as the blisters on her eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then she collapsed unconscious.
Scarlett and her kittens were then taken to a vet and were treated for injuries.
The weakest of the kittens, a white-coated, died of a virus a month after the fire. However, after three months of treatment and recovery, Scarlett and her surviving kittens were well enough to be adopted.
Scarlett died on October 11, 2008, while with her adoptive family in Brooklyn.
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#5 Daniel Kish Is A Blind Man Had To Have His Eyes Removed Before He Was 13 Months Old Because Of Eye Cancer
He's mastered the ability of echolocation by clicking his tongue and listening to the echoes.
He can ride his bike in traffic, recognize a building from as far away as 1000ft, differentiate specific kinds of cars. He is able to live a relatively normal life.
Kish and his organization have also taught a form of echolocation to at least 500 blind children around the world.
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#6 Richard Batista donated a kidney to his wife, but she filed for divorce 4 years later. In court, he demanded the kidney back or $1.5 million.
In 2001, Dawnell Batista was suffering from kidney disease and was in need of a transplant.
Richard, her husband at the time, offered to donate one of his kidneys. The transplant was a success, and Dawnell's health improved significantly.
However, the couple's marriage began to deteriorate, and they eventually divorced in 2005.
During the divorce proceedings, Richard made the surprising demand that Dawnell return the kidney he had donated to her or pay $1.5M in compensation, arguing that it was a gift given in the expectation of love and companionship, which had not been fulfilled.
It was ruled that organs in the United States may not be bought or sold, and donating one is considered a gift.
Richard did not get his kidney back or any compensation.
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#7 In 2018, heroic dad Brad Lewis saved his youngest son from a fatal fall, jumping after him and cradling him to his chest, absorbing the impact.
He suffered a fractured skull among other injuries.
The incident happened when his son fired a toy Nerf gun and chased after the bullet onto the balcony - only for him to slip and lose his footing.
Both Brad and his son made a full recovery.
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#8 In 1836, Bank of England directors received an anonymous letter from someone claiming direct access to the bank's gold.
The directors assumed this to be a joke and simply ignored it.
However, sometime later, they received another letter, in which the enigmatic author offered to meet them at an hour of their choosing inside the main gold vault.
According to the bank’s website, the directors were intrigued but considered it impossible for someone to break into the vault without their knowledge.
Nevertheless, they agreed to the meeting and gathered together one evening, inside the vault as agreed.
To their great surprise, at the appointed time, a noise was heard beneath the floorboards, and a man popped up underneath their feet.
He was a sewer worker who had been working on repairs close to the Bank of England site at Threadneedle Street.
During his routine inspection, he had discovered an old drain that led directly underneath the gold vault inside the bank itself.
After a quick stock take, they realized that the sewer worker had not taken anything from the vault, despite having multiple opportunities to do so.
As a reward for his honesty, the directors gifted him £800, a sum that equates to £80,000 in today’s money.
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#9 In 2012, German kindergarten teacher Ina Koenig bravely jumped down a 75-foot mine shaft to rescue a 3-year-old student who had fallen in.
The shaft was filled with cold water, but Koenig managed to keep the child's head above the surface for over 2 hours, saving his life.
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#10 Barry Marshall was convinced Helicobacter pylori caused stomach ulcers, but faced disbelief.
Since it was illegal to test his theory on humans, he drank the bacteria himself and developed ulcers within days.
He treated them with antibiotics and we on to win a Nobel prize in 2005.
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#11 In 2001, Actor Mark Ruffalo Had A Realistic Dream That He Had A Brain Tumour
Despite no previous signs, he went to see a doctor due to the vividness of his dream.
The doctor booked him in for a CAT scan & discovered that Ruffalo did indeed have a brain tumor behind his ear, which was subsequently removed.
Ruffalo addressed the issue in 2011 with W magazine stating: “You just deal with it. You go on. I’m fine now, I only lost my hearing in one ear. I see it as kind of a gift in a weird way. Your priorities become very clear. My relationship to acting became very clear.”
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#12 In 1993, James Scott deliberately damaged a levee, causing a massive Mississippi River flood, to delay his wife's return home and party.
His actions flooded 14,000 acres of farmland, destroyed buildings, and closed a bridge. He was convicted of "intentionally causing a catastrophe" and is still in prison serving a life sentence.
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#13 Li Jingzhi, A Chinese Woman, Was Reunited With Her Son, Jia Jia, Who Was Kidnapped In 1988
On October 17, 1988, Jia Jia's father, known by his surname Mao, took the two-year-old boy out to play in their neighbourhood in the city of Xi'an.
Mr Mao then walked into a hotel to ask for a cup of water for the thirsty toddler, but when he returned, he realised his son had gone missing.
His mother then spent more than 32 years travelling across all of China, through 20 provinces and hundreds of towns looking for him.
During her quest, she helped reunite 4 different children with their families before eventually finding her own son.
It turns out Jia Jia had been sold to a family in Sichuan in south-western China for 6,000 yuan.
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#14 On April 19th 1995, A Man Named Mcarthur Wheeler Robbed A Bank With Lemon Juice On His Face As A Disguise
Since he knew lemon juice could be used as invisible ink, he was sure it would make his face invisible on the CCTV. He smiled at each camera he saw.
Later that night, the police arrested him.
When they showed him the CCTV footage, Wheeler stared in disbelief. He said to the officers "but I wore the juice."
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#15 A Colombian Woman Named Marina Chapman Was Raised By Capuchin Monkeys For 5 Years After Being Abandoned In The Jungle
She learned to scale trees, catch birds and rabbits with her bare hands, and lived as one of them until she was discovered by hunters.
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#16 There Was A Fad In The 1950's Called Booth Stuffing Where Teens Would Try To Stuff Themselves In Phone Booths
#17 Miraculous: Red-White Maui Oceanfront Home Survives Lahaina Wildfires.
Meet Francesco Lentini: The 3-Legged Circus Performer with an Incredible Life Story, Who Thrived in the Circus World for 77 Years.
#19 The Largest And The Most Populated City On Earth, Tokyo, Japan
#20 Discover Robert Chesebrough, the Vaseline Inventor Who Swore by Its Medicinal Powers, Even Eating a Spoonful Daily.
#21 The Worlds Most Dangerous Plant
#22 Bugs Seeking Higher Ground During A Flood
#23 Vulture Bees Feed On Rotting Meat Instead Of Nectar And Their Honey Is Called Meat Honey. This Is Their Hive
#24 This Oak Door Belonging To Westminster Abbey Is The Oldest Door In Great Britain
#25 In 2017, German Police In Frankfurt Found A Car Belonging To A 76-Year- Old Man Who Had Forgotten Where He Parked It, 20 Years Earlier
#26 Steve Fugate's Remarkable Journey: 12 Years of Cross-Country Hiking with a 'Love Life' Sign, Inspiring Resilience and Perseverance.
#27 This Is A Dog With A Myostatin Deficiency, Which Allows For Unrestricted Muscle Growth
#28 Keinichi Ohno's Astonishing Real Photo: A Bird, Water, and Wall – A Singular Image Creating a Mesmerizing Optical Illusion.
#29 In 1863, Jacob Miller, A Union Army Soldier From The 9th Indiana Infantry, Survived Being Shot In The Head During The Civil War
30# On April 28, 1988, The Roof Of An Aloha Airlines Jet Ripped Off At 24,000 Feet, But The Plane Still Managed To Land. There Was One Fatality