Rick Rescorla - Saving Almost 3000 During the 9/11 Attacks.

Rescorla was the Director of Security for Morgan Stanley in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. A retired U.S. Army officer who had fought in Vietnam, Rescorla was known for his meticulous attention to safety.

In the years prior to 9/11, he had repeatedly warned that the towers were vulnerable to attack, particularly by aircraft. His insistence on preparedness led him to run frequent evacuation drills, sometimes frustrating employees but ensuring they knew exactly what to do in an emergency.

When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., Port Authority officials advised workers in the South Tower to remain at their desks. Rescorla ignored those instructions. Grabbing his bullhorn, walkie-talkie, and cell phone, he immediately began leading Morgan Stanley’s 2,700 employees out of the building. Calm and authoritative, he directed people into the stairwells, urging them to stay composed. To keep spirits steady, he sang traditional Cornish songs from his childhood, including “Men of Harlech.” Survivors later recalled that his singing provided a sense of calm in the chaos.

Thanks to his leadership, nearly every Morgan Stanley employee made it out alive. Tragically, Rescorla himself did not survive. After ensuring thousands were safe, he returned to the building to search for stragglers and was last seen heading upward shortly before the tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m.

Rescorla’s actions are credited with saving over 2,700 lives. Today, he is remembered as one of the great civilian heroes of 9/11, embodying courage, preparation, and selflessness.

Wikipedia

Massive Wall of Trees 🌳 From Canada to Texas??!!

 Why did the United States build a 1,000-mile wall from Canada to Texas—not from concrete or steel, but from trees?

In the 1930s, America faced one of the worst environmental disasters in its history: the Dust Bowl. Years of intensive farming had removed the native grasses that protected the Great Plains. When a devastating drought struck, the soil turned to dust and powerful winds created massive black dust storms known as “Black Blizzards.”

Entire towns disappeared under clouds of dust. Crops failed. Livestock died. Thousands of families lost their homes and were forced to migrate.

To stop the disaster, the U.S. government launched an extraordinary project: planting over 220 million trees across the Great Plains. This massive shelterbelt stretched nearly 1,000 miles from Canada to Texas, slowing destructive winds, protecting farmland, and helping save American agriculture.

Discover the incredible true story of how a forest became America's defense against a growing desert, and learn how human actions helped create the Dust Bowl in the first place.

📌 In This Video:

✔ The collapse of the Great Plains

✔ The Dust Bowl disaster explained

✔ Black Blizzard dust storms

✔ Why native grasses were important

✔ The Great Depression connection

✔ The 220 million tree shelterbelt project

✔ How America stopped desertification

How VENICE Was Built On Water - INCREDIBLE!!

 

For some reason, the YouTube video cuts off - if you'd like to see the full video -
its here on Instagram

Venice was constructed in the 5th century on over 100 islands in the Venetian Lagoon, using millions of wooden piles driven deep into the lagoon’s muddy seabed. These piles, often made from water-resistant alder wood, provided a stable foundation that, over time, petrified underwater and became as hard as stone. 

On top of these piles, buildings were constructed using Istrian stone, a durable limestone that withstands saltwater erosion. 

Venice’s canals, designed as primary transportation routes, reflect a sophisticated blend of Roman engineering and local innovation. Despite facing challenges like subsidence and rising sea levels, Venice’s unique construction continues to influence architectural and environmental strategies worldwide. 

Words With Power - Pivotal time in life

Embracing Our Divine Identity - Abel Cheah

Also find on instagram: 

  https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9wtaaZullD/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

Britian's Got Talent - MY FAVORITE!!

Can I share my favorite of all time from BGT?
I've watched this sooo many times and I never tire of it!
I just wish THIS performance was recorded.

2009 Susan Boyle First Performance

Anthills and Birds . . . !!!

When a crow feels sick… it visits an anthill.

Sounds strange?

It’s actually one of nature’s most fascinating healing rituals.
When a crow senses it’s unwell, it will intentionally find an anthill, spread its wings wide, and remain completely still—waiting for the ants to crawl into its feathers.

Ants release formic acid—a natural antiseptic that kills bacteria, fungi, and parasites hiding in the bird’s feathers.  This behavior is called “anting”, and it’s been observed not just in crows, but in many bird species.

Birds engage in a behavior called "anting," where they deliberately place ants on their bodies, particularly their feathers. The most widely accepted theory is that birds use ants to soothe irritated skin and alleviate skin problems. Some biologists also suggest that anting is a way for birds to remove parasites from their feathers.

Here's a more detailed look at the possible reasons for anting:

Soothing irritated skin:
The most prevalent theory is that birds use ants to alleviate skin irritation.

Parasite removal:
Some scientists believe that anting can help remove parasites from feathers.

Feather maintenance:
Ants may help with feather grooming, as anting can bring saliva to the feathers for preening, which helps remove old oil and other substances.

Food preparation:
Some studies suggest that birds may prepare ants for consumption by removing irritating substances.


More From "Bird Watching"
20 common birds that "ant":

Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Great Horned Owl
Northern Flicker
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow
American Crow
Common Raven

Source: Lovie M. Whitaker, A Résumé of Anting, with Particular Reference to a Captive Orchard Oriole. The Wilson Bulletin, September 1957, Vol. 69, No. 3, 195-262.

A Blank Canvas - Simon Beck Snow Art

 From Reader's Digest  December 2023/January 2024

Click here to see more Simon Beck Art Designs in the snow.

Instagram

Youtube

Artnet

Finding Your Own HAPPINESS!!

Wonderful story below - watch a fellow share how this story changed his entire outlook on happiness -

A teacher asked her students to write their names on balloons and release them into the room.

She then asked them to find the balloon with their name on it, but none of them could.

She then asked them to take the first balloon they found and give it to the person whose name was on it. They completed the task in seconds.

The teacher concluded:

The balloons represent your happiness. Search for your own happiness and you may not find it, but help others find theirs, and you will find yours too.

Same video on instagram  -  not sure why - link will direct you to a new link.

The Illusion Of All Illusions - Can YOU see?

This is called 

The Coffer Illusion

In this image there are 16 circles

Can you find them?

The Coffer Illusion is a fascinating example of a visual phenomenon where the observer's perception alternates between seeing shapes and not seeing them.

In this specific illusion, the image contains 16 circles, which are often not immediately noticeable.

This occurs because the human brain is more attuned to processing straight lies and angles in this context, rather than curves or circles.  As a result, the circles, which are formed by the arrangement of other shapes and lines, become "Hidden in Plain Sight".

The Coffer Illusion highlights the complex ways in which our visual system interprets and organizes visual information, demonstrating how easily our perception can be deceived by clever arrangement of simple geometric shapes.

Here's a hint:

Once you see it, you can't unsee.
Concentrate on the Vertical lines between the boxes, the circle is in the center of those lines.

I could not see the circles until I enlarged the photo!

This came from instagram page: howeverythingworks   on May 29, 2024

TRAVEL SCENIC UTAH THROUGH 360° CLICK AND DRAG PANORAMAS - WOWOWOWOWOW!!

Incredible Website of 360 Degree - 

UP & DOWN and AROUND AND AROUND!!

https://www.utah3d.net/

Absolutely amazing.

Go around and around, up and down, TOO COOL!

BY MARTIN VAN HEMERT

THE BOX-BED - It's A REAL Thing!!

In Brittany, the closed-bed (French: lit-clos) (Breton: gwele-kloz) is a traditional furnishing. In homes with usually only one room, the box-bed allowed some privacy and helped keep people warm during winter. Similar enclosed bed furniture was once also found in western Britain; Devon, Cornwall, Wales particularly in Gower.

Some closed-beds were built one above the other in a double-decker, two-story arrangement. In this case, young people would sleep above.

It was the main furniture of rural houses in Brittany until the 20th century. Often carved and decorated, it was the pride of its owners.

Closed-beds were 1.60 to 1.70 m (5b'3" to 5' 9") length, long enough for people of that region who were rather small. And because they slept in an almost sitting position, they leaned on three or four pillows. It was the tradition of the Middle Ages not to sleep lying down, because that is the position of the dead and of effigies.

Later out of fashion and because they were expensive to make, box-beds were gradually abandoned in the 19th and 20th centuries. Fine pieces were put in museums, while most of them were converted into bookshelves, dressers or TV cabinets. In the 21st century, rental companies offer nights in authentic box-beds. The contemporary Breton designers Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec have reinterpreted the form with their lit-clos, 2000 for Galerie kreo.

Box-beds were also used to protect people of the home from the animals (pigs, hens) also living in the house. In Breton culture, the box-bed was also believed to offer protection against wolves.

Original website here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box-bed

Closed bed in Finistère (France).

Box-bed in Austria

The closed-bed in Brittany

A Dutch bedstede

Makeup Artist & Hairstylist Before-And-After Shots - WOW!

A Makeup Artist And Hairstylist 

Post 30 Before-And-After Shots 

Of Clients Who Told Them To 

“Do Something” 

By Rokas Laurinavičius

Denis Tymulis 

Kotryna Brašiškytė

"I don't know" and "Just do something" are two phrases that beauty industry workers have mixed feelings about. On one hand, they push you into a minefield—what if you and the client have very different tastes?— but on the other, they provide a golden opportunity to try something new.

Russian makeup artist Oksana Trunova has heard women telling her these words so many times that eventually she joined forces with hairstylist Olga Tarasova and they started freestyling these makeovers together.

After the work is done, Oksana shares before-and-after photos of the transformations on her Instagram account, and the images serve as perfect reminders that it's never too late to experiment with your appearance.

See original article here

 

America's Got Talent - REALLY!!

Dance Duo Surprises 'AGT' Judges With Unexpected Performance

Pasha and Aliona will shock you with their stunning dance!

 

Incredible Illusion!!

 

Amazing What You See On The Road!!!

 

THE UNIVERSE - MIND BOGGLING!

It really shows how insignificant 

we are in relation to the universe. 

But we DO still really, really count!

 

AMAZING CAKES - WOW!

At only 23 years old,

Luke Vincentini,

a pastry chef based in New Jersey,

makes totally amazing cakes!

WOW! REALLY OLD FOOTAGE OF FIXING PLANE IN MIDAIR!!

Barnstormer replacing landing gear in flight

A day in the life of a teacher...

Me: Ok class, today...
Student: This is stupid. I'd rather be playing video games.
Office: *ring* Send (student) to the office.
Voicemail: My kid told me that YOU...
Email: We need you to sub on your prep.
Teacher coaches: Students are experiencing an all time level of trauma. Form relationships with all students and make connections every day.
SRSS: Make sure to incorporate ELA and math into your lesson plan daily, so we can boost our scores for data.
IEP: Implement these modifications and accommodations for these students every hour. Document it.
504: You are legally bound to adhering to these accommodations for these students. Document it.
Pinterest: Every teacher in the universe has a cooler and craftier idea and classroom than you.
Facebook: Omg. Did you hear about what happened in *insert teacher here* class?! Don't they even watch them? It's their job! How did (s)he miss that?! Yeah, and I heard...
Class roster: 30+ kids every hour, 6 times per day.
Student Services: You have 4 homeless students. You need to provide the following daily.
Student Medical alert: These students will die if you don't monitor these medical issues closely.
Professional Development: We're trying something new this year even though we're not ready to roll it out and there's no funding for it. Be sure to document that you are doing it correctly.
Media: Your classroom is going to get shot up any minute.
Surprise observation: Be sure goals are set, reports are finished, lesson plans are perfect, and that you hit the learning target and success criteria multiple times. We need documentation and evidence that you're doing this.
Standardized tests: You suck as a teacher. Also, your rating is based on this, but also, make sure students don't feel defined by their performance on these.
PBIS: Teach students the expectations in the hallway, cafeteria, classroom, and outside. Take students in the bathroom and reteach how to wipe, flush, and wash hands. Be sure to only reward positive behavior. Check in and check out with these specific students daily.
MTSS: We have 3 tiers of support. What about your gifted students, pull out students, intervention students? Why aren't you providing enough differentiation? You need to provide documentation.
Door: Keep me locked, so that students are safe. Yes you will be interrupted to open me 10x per hour.
Papers/Grading: Say good bye to your evenings and weekends.
Lesson plans: Are they aligned with school, state, U.S., and world wide standards? Be sure to document that.
The Powers That Be: What can we do to help?
Teachers: Please take something off our plate before adding something new.
The Powers that Be: Sorry, no can do. Btw, you also need to...
Tech Dept: We are working on correcting today's issue as quickly as we can.
English Language Learner: *crying, speaking a foreign language, feeling alone and scared*
The Powers that Be: Sorry, there's just not enough funding for those students.
Department Heads: I've been told we need to align all of our curriculum, assessments, and daily lesson plans. Be sure to document that.
Staff Memo: Be sure to attend the following meetings this week: staff, grade level, core subject, tech, school climate, school improvement.
Counselors: We saw 500 of the 900 students on our caseload, this month.
Social Worker: Yes, I filed that CPS report and the other one. Now we wait on the state to act.
Student: My step dad got arrested last night for beating up my mom.
Tornado Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching.
Fire Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching.
Internal Threat Drill: Surprise! Barricade your door and make sure all students are silent for 45 minutes. Go back to teaching.
External Threat drill: Surprise! Make sure student are silent and out of the funnel of potential bullet spray. Now go back to teaching.
Tutoring: Provided before school, after school, and during lunch.
Technology: Must be implemented into all lessons but also make sure to monitor all 30+ students at all times and make sure they're not doing anything inappropriate.
Data: You suck as a teacher.
Administrators: *literally being pulled in 20 directions at once, everyday, while fielding discipline, making multiple teacher observations, fielding staff, breaking up fights, keeping us safe, performing investigations, cooperating with police, meeting with students and parents, and attending all after school and extracurricular activities*
Employability grade: Be sure to document when students are tardy, not following directions, unprepared, and not collaborating well. Document this for all 175 students.
Academic Grade: Document all accommodations, modifications, retakes, and rationale for grades for each of your 175 students. No we will not provide district time for you to enter these into your grade book.
Special Ed State Dept: You must mainstream all students regardless of behavior, cognitive function, and/or potential violent episodes. Sorry, there's just not enough funding for
additonal support in your classroom.
State: Make sure you are highly qualified, but you must pay for all of your professional development, student loans, grad classess, conferences, hotel stay, food, travel, and substitute teachers out of pocket. And you need to update your certification. You'll need to pay for that too.
Bladder: You haven't peed in 7 hours, you're going to get another infection.
Heart: *racing*
Stomach: *in knots and anxiety coursing*
Brain: You're not enough. You'll never be enough.
Chest/Lungs: I can't breathe.
Eyes: *leaking tears*
Me: *smiles* (Tells self) Stop. Just suck it up. You're fine. You have 30+ students eyes on you right now. Do NOT let them down.
Society: F*ck respect for authority, including your teachers. Must be nice to get your summers off.
Parent of a student: You make a difference.
Student: I know I'm special and have value, because of you.
My own kids: Mom, why are your crying?
Me: *sets alarm for tomorrow to do it all over again*
-Written by Amber Guerreiro (middle school teacher)

Why Japan's Fireworks Are The BEST In The World