For one Oklahoma high school student, graduating took a lot more work than usual.
Micah McDade, a senior at Okmulgee High School, was born with cerebral palsy. As his graduation drew near, he became determined to walk like everyone else as he collected his diploma. So, following months of constant practice and preparation, McDade rose to the challenge on graduation day as he was helped out of his wheelchair and physically walked across the stage, much to the eruption of cheers from the crowd.
What an amazing moment. McDade clearly has the heart of a lion and the dedication needed to carry on toward the next step...a college graduation!
For years, this couple fought to conceive a child.
Unfortunately, infertility prevented them from having a baby of their own. That didn't stop them from having a family, though. In secret, they decided to adopt a baby in need of a home.
When the adoption finally went through and Finley was a part of their family, this couple introduced him to their family and friends. However, their loved ones had no idea they even applied to adopt a child.
Needless to say...
Everyone was SHOCKED.
The looks on their faces are priceless...wow!
Finley and his new family are absolutely beautiful!
Finley and his new family are absolutely beautiful!
If you'd like to learn how to give a home to a child in need, please visit AdoptUSKids.
Fishing off the northern coast of the land Down Under, a group of fishermen caught something that has the internet abuzz.
If you've spent any amount of time following us here at ViralNova, you're probably familiar with the fact that some of the world's creepiest critters call Australia home. It's pretty amazing, actually, and I can imagine that Aussies are pretty immune to the fact that they share their land with these fearsome beasts.
And that's why we need to pay attention when they start freaking out. This video will show you what I mean.
"It's a cod, and it's got a snake in its mouth," is a sentence that could only be said in Australia. I think he might be onto something with that lure idea, though! Someone get him a patent!
When a stray cat got his head stuck between the bars of an iron fence, the Los Angeles Animal Services Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team, otherwise known as SMART, was called out to rescue the feline in distress.
The stray, nicknamed Midnight by neighbors, was known to regularly go in and out of the bottom of the fence. But one day, after being cruelly shot twice with a BB gun, the poor kitty got scared and ran through the wrong hole. After trying to gently push his head back through the bars, the rescue team enlisted the help of a vet technician who sedated Midnight as the team successfully freed him from the gate.
After his dramatic rescue, Midnight was taken to an animal shelter to be cared for, and I'm very happy to report that the little guy was adopted soon after by a loving family.
Joe Karl's life was turned upside down one day when his beloved dog Gunnar went missing. Karl and his family tried everything to find their cherished canine pal, but with no reports or sightings, they finally gave up.
Around the same time, agents at the City of Pittsburgh Animal Care and Control were searching for a stray dog in a nearby neighborhood. Unfortunately, they were unable to catch the quick pup, but continued sightings over the months aided in their search. Eventually, they were able to bring the dog to safety and he was transported to a local shelter for care. That's when he was scanned for a microchip.
The shelter staff discovered it was Gunnar! The poor pooch had been missing for 20 months. Watch Gunnar's emotional reunion with his humans below.
I'm so happy that Karl was able to see his best friend again. I'm even happier that Gunnar managed to get back to his loving home. Far too many pets go missing leaving families without a clue about what happened to them. This truly is a happy ending for these best buds.
Google I/O 2016, the company's annual developer conference, is moving to Mountain View, California, this year, which means it's right in Google's backyard — one of the few places its driverless cars are regular sights on the road.
But don't get too excited. The conference, which begins Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Pacific Time with the opening keynote and runs through Friday, includes no mention of Google's autonomous driving project in the official schedule, so the vehicles' presence at the conference will likely be limited to, at best, a mere mention, or just a sighting here and there.
What the schedule does include, however, is a whole lot more. Google pushed out a meaty update to its I/O agenda on Monday morning, giving us the clearest idea yet of what it's planning to reveal during the big show. Prominent sessions for the new version of Android (N), its 3D-mapping project (Tango), virtual reality and even the late-breaking return of Google's Advanced Technology And Projects (ATAP) division hint at a conference filled with ambitious projects that aren't entirely tied to Android.
When Google decided to move I/O to Mountain View (it's usually at San Francisco's Moscone Center) for the conference's 10th anniversary, it clearly had something more in mind than just ticking off a milestone. Similar to what Facebook did at its recent F8 conference, we should get a good snapshot of Google's vision of the next decade, or at least big chunks of it.
As for which chunks, here's what Google definitely, might and probably won't talk about:
The sure bets
IMAGE: PETE PACHAL
Android N: It's a given Android will be the headliner at Google I/O, but this year is a little different because Google has already announced Android Nand even pushed out the first developer builds of the mobile OS. We already know it's going to have split-screen multitasking, Night Mode (just like Night Shift in iOS) and new emoji. So what else?
The name, for starters. While Google typically reveals the dessert-treat-inspired Android name for the fall, there are hints at a possible brand tie-in like it did with KitKat (Nutella, maybe?), which could mean an earlier naming announcement. There's also the on-again, off-again rumor that Android N will include support for the Android equivalent of the iPhone's 3D Touch. And if you had to bet big on one feature, there will certainly be big updates to VR support.
Android VR: One of the most tantalizing rumors to lead ahead of I/O is that Google will unveil a standalone VR headset — similar to the Samsung Gear VR, minus the smartphone dependence. "Android VR" will have its own VR-dedicated hardware, making it a step up from today's mobile-centric headsets (including Google's dollar-store Cardboard) but not as powerful as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.
IMAGE: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
Project Tango: There are no less than five separate sessions on Project Tango, Google's long-running project to create an ecosystem for real-time 3D modeling from mobile devices. It's time for a big push, especially considering the progress Microsoft has made with Windows Hello andHoloLens — two high-profile systems that "see" the real world in 3D. Google will need to lay out a plan for getting Tango sensors into real devices, and combining the tech with Android VR seems like a no-brainer.
Android Pay: With Android Pay all over the I/O 2016 agenda and "exciting new announcements" teased, it's clear Google is planning a big update to its Apple Pay competitor. If Google were to announce support for older MST (magnetic secure transmission) terminals and a way to use its mobile-payments system with Android Wear smartwatches, it would go a long way toward catching up to its Samsung Pay and Apple Pay competition.
Android Auto: It's been about a year since Android Auto officially arrived in cars, and there's been precious little progress since then. Apple CarPlay went wireless, so you can be sure Google will follow suit, but there's likely more in store, and Google's Android Auto session it'll involve "more users in the car." Sharing destinations, maybe?
Bots: Microsoft and Facebook both put bots — automated programs you can interact with via natural language — front and center in their developer conferences, and you can be sure Google won't let that go unanswered. A session about building bots that work on the bare-bones Raspberry Pi says they'll "detect faces, objects, and follow voice commands." Just think of what you can do with dedicated hardware.
AI and Deep Learning: Of all the major tech companies, Google may be best positioned to bring AI and machine learning to regular people. It clearly plans to chart a path for where these technologies will go — there's a major session entitled "Google's vision for Machine Learning" — although it's unclear what, exactly, will be relevant to developers at this stage, apart from updates about its newer projects and tools, including TensorFlow andAlphaGo, Google's AI that beat a Go champion earlier this year.
Chrome OS: From a recent discovery in the code of Chrome OS, it seems clear that Chromebooks are going to get a major update that allows them to access the entire Google Play store. It'll stop short of a full merger of Android and Chrome, though, but it seems the two operating systems are still destined to eventually become one.
ATAP: For a while it looked like Google ATAP was going to be absent from Google I/O this year because of a surprising change in leadership. But Google added an ATAP session at the 11th hour — a relief since the ATAP keynote from last year's show was jam-packed with announcements. We'll hopefully hear some updates about Ara, Jacquard and Soli, but we mostly want to hear what's new, and the session promises "a feast for your eyes and ears in 2D, 360 and VR." It also says there will show "ambitious blue sky research coupled with a driving application," which could be the conference's best shot at driverless-car news.
The maybes
Chirp: The rumor mill recently churned out some details about Google's supposed answer to the Amazon Echo, codenames Chirp, and some suspected it would debut at I/O. While there's no question Google has some kind of Echo killer in the works, the company's smart-home platform, Brillo, and Nest barely feature at all on schedule, so it doesn't look likely.
Messaging: There have been persistent rumors that Google is working on a new messaging app along the lines of WhatsApp. While such an app could launch at I/O, there are a lot of unknowns on this one, particularly whether this would be an update to Hangouts or something new entirely. While we agree Hangouts is in need of a major revamp, we'll probably have to wait a while longer for streamlined messaging from Google. At least we have Spaces, a group-sharing app Google announced on Monday.
Chromebook Pixel 3: Although it's been a year since Google launched its flagship Chromebook, the Pixel 2, we're not holding our breath for a new model. The Pixel 2 was already ridiculously (or ludicrously, if you like) overpowered for Chromebook, and there's really nothing wrong with it, so it's doubtful there'll be an update.
Project Aura: Google renamed Glass as Project Aura, but since then the infamous headset has kept a low profile. It's a different world than when Glass made its splashy debut at I/O 2012, and the wearable world has moved on. Aura will continue to make (quiet) progress in the enterprise — and there will definitely be a lot of retro developers wearing glass at the show — but the wearable world has moved on from Glass/Aura.
Smart contact lenses, Internet balloons, drones ...: As I said, it's Mountain View, so self-driving cars are a wild card (see the ATAP session), but it's doubtful Google will announce anything major for its big, world-changing projects, which are technically under Alphabet's purview anyway. But we can dream.Nexus devices: Google just refreshed its Nexus phones in the fall, and there haven't been any credible rumors about a new tablet, so it looks like we won't get much in the way of new devices — at least not in the typical form factors, anyway.
It's no secret that teenagers can be an odd bunch.
And I'm not one to talk, since I had some questionable hobbies as a teen (I was a sucker for Magic: The Gathering, so there's that). But some adolescents, and we're really only talking about a handful here, do some disturbing things in their spare time.
In the video below, which was made sometime in the early '90s, one teen talks about the ins and outs of his foray into grave robbing. He even shows a few trophies that he has gathered in the process. It's a little on the long side, but even watching the first 60 seconds will give you chills (and not the good kind).
Most people may like to think they would be helpful in the event of an emergency...
Unfortunately, though, there are times when disaster strikes and no one does anything. Usually, this isn't a result of callousness, but diffusion of responsibility. This is a sociopsychological phenomenon where a person is less likely to take action or responsibility when others are present.
If a pedestrian saw a person being attacked on the street, they may be hesitant to help because they believe "someone else will step in." It's a normal feeling, but it's one we must fight...just like Santiago Portillo did.
This brave man was working in a mattress store when he spotted a burning car. Instead of assuming the driver was already being helped, he leapt into action, saving the man's life.
What this man did for a complete stranger is amazing.
When Cincinnati police Sgt. James Givens was "called" to the scene by a mother goose, he couldn't have known what it was for.
She kept "pecking [at my cruiser's door] and normally they don't come near us. Then it walked away and [...] stopped and looked back so I followed it and it led me right over to the baby that was tangled up in all that string," Givens said. The police officer and his partner quickly got to work freeing the poor baby -- are you ready to smile?
This could have ended so terribly if these officers weren't at the scene. Thank goodness we can all enjoy this happy ending instead!
li Kerr met Megan Schiedler when they were just a few months old in a play group for children with Down syndrome. Since that day, the two have been inseparable.
With prom fast approaching, Kerr knew there was only one person he wanted to ask to be his date. By enlisting the help of his fellow choir students, the high school senior surprised Schiedler by singing "My Girl" as she was led into the room. Her response is about to melt you into a puddle!
For high school students, there's nothing more important than having a blast at their senior prom. Based on this footage, it's clear that these two are about to have the best night ever!
In this funny clip, a pampered pooch sits on the couch as his favorite little human tries to make him play. After throwing the ball across the room and doing his very best to persuade his four-legged friend, it becomes clear to the boy that the pup just wants to chill out for a while.
Instead of being bossy, however, the understanding little guy goes a different (and way more adorable) route.
When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was struck down over eastern Ukraine almost two years ago, the news came like a knife to the hearts of Australian parents Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris.
And that's because all three of their children were on that plane with their maternal grandfather Nick Norris. The tragedy left no survivors, claiming the lives of all 298 passengers on board. The couple had no idea that when they dropped Nick, Mo, Evie, and Otis off at the airport that day, they'd never see them again.
But on May 11, 2016, they were given the ultimate gift — a treasure by the name of Violet May who is helping them heal.
Meet Violet May Maslin. She was born yesterday, and as far as her parents are concerned, she's already proven to be a beam of light in an unspeakably dark time.
“We believe that Mo, whose 14th birthday was Saturday, Evie, 12 next week, Otis, 10 next month, and Granddad Nick have sent us an amazing gift," they explained. "Violet’s birth is a testament to our belief that love is stronger than hate.”
Although they're not here to meet their new sister, Mom and Dad know that they'd be so happy to welcome little Violet into the family.
Just after the disaster, the couple released a statement. "Our babies are not here with us. We need to live with this act of horror every moment for the rest of our lives," they said. "No one deserves what we are going through, not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky."
But now they have a chance to take a step forward and raise their new addition in honor of the three wonderful children who left big shoes to fill.
Although such horrific wounds never fully heal, Violet May Maslin has already helped her parents more than she could possibly understand. Best wishes to this family as they add to the beautiful house that Mo, Otis, and Evie built.
Psychology is a tricky subject. Getting into matters of the mind is difficult because studies rely heavily upon mental activity, and there's nothing tangible to work with when researchers attempt to nail concepts down. That being said, the enigmatic nature of human psychology is what makes it so interesting.
Here are a few psychological tricks that will definitely help you get what you want!
1. If you're looking to build rapport with someone, make sure that your skin is warm when you shake hands with them. Cold hands have been linked to distrust.
2. Want people to heed your words? Due to patriarchal social structures, people tend to take information more seriously when someone says it was relayed to them by their father.
3. When you're playing rock, paper, scissors, ask your opponent a question right before you start the chant. They will almost always choose scissors.
4. When you're trying to get your kids to eat foods they don't like, ask them if they want 2 pieces or 5 pieces. By making them feel like they have some control over the outcome, you trick them into eating their fruits and veggies.
5. When asking someone a question, an easy way to get them to agree with you is to nod while you're talking. It makes listeners think that what you're saying is true.
6. If you think that someone is stalking you, yawn and then immediately look at the person you suspect is watching you. If your suspicions are accurate, they'll yawn, too.
7. When you have a song stuck in your head, the best way to get rid of it is to think of the end of the track. As dictated by the Zeigarnik Effect, your mind will continue to think of things that have been left unfinished, so if you think of the end of the song, you'll be able to get it out of your system.
8. The best way to get through a crowded area is to look toward your final destination. Suddenly, a walkway will open up. In busy areas, people gauge where others are going by determining which way they're looking. They then either join the flow or get out of the way.
9. If you think that someone is going to talk badly about you in a professional setting, sit next to that person. It is much harder to speak poorly of someone who's in close proximity to you, so they'll probably take it easy.
10. Hold up a dollar and tell your friends that it is up for auction. The highest bidder gets the dollar, but the second- and third-place bidders are still required to pay off their bids. They'll ultimately offer up amounts that are worth way more than the prize.
11. If you really want to mess with someone's head, pick a certain word that they say often. Every time they say that word, nod your head. That'll lead to instant concern and annoyance.
12. Having a hard time getting someone to open up? Ask them a question, and once they're finished talking, look right into their eyes for a few seconds. This will subconsciously urge them to keep going.
Whether you want to win rock, paper, scissors or you hope to gather important information about people, these tricks will serve you well.
A seated portrait of Albert Einstein, Princeton, NJ, on his birthday, March 14, 1953.
Albert Einstein was not into birthdays. The legendary theoretical physicist, born in Germany on March 14, 1879, resisted being the center of attention, telling LIFE he believed that “birthdays are for children.” But on his 74th birthday, in 1953, he made an exception.
When Yeshiva University of New York requested to build a medical school in his name, he agreed—despite feeling the same way about such honors as he did about birthdays—and attended a fundraising luncheon in his honor.
“For the occasion,” LIFE reported, “Einstein shed his characteristic baggy sweater and slacks, put on a gray suit. But he found it less easy to shed a lifetime of shyness.” He failed to notice the triple-tier birthday cake presented to him by Cake Bakers Union Local 51. He eyed a slab of roast beef and objected, “This is for lions.”
When all was said and done, the luncheon had raised $3.5 million for what is now the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “I am glad it is over,” was all the honoree had to say about it. He died two years later, on April 18, 1955.
Here, in recognition of what would have been Einstein’s 137th birthday, is a collection of LIFE photographers’ greatest images of the extraordinary thinker.
Some believe that humans are the only species on the planet that rescue the weak. Other animals let the weaklings die off, in an effort to create a stronger species. And while Darwin was right about a lot, I'm inclined to call him on this one.
This video of a dog rescuing two pooches in serious trouble seems to defy all that "survival of the fittest" logic, doesn't it?
That was awesome to see, and I'm sure that dog's owner is very proud. He's a hero and I hope he got lots of treats for that act of bravery and kindness!
Being aware of your surroundings is important -- whether you're a man or a woman.
It's unfortunate that being wary of other people in this world is a necessity for keeping yourself safe. Other people in the world can be trusted -- not every stranger is bad. However, when you're alone and vulnerable in a parking lot, it's best to play it safe.
This video will make you think about what you're doing the next time you're by yourself.
Be confident, keep your head up, and be aware of your surroundings. If something looks a little off, don't be afraid to change course or seek help. You'll never look stupid and it's important to be safe.
Arriving home from the supermarket with quail eggs, a YouTuber named Luna noticed that her budgie named Pi-chan took a liking to one. Thinking nothing of it, Luna let Pi-chan adopt the egg, and even put it in her nest to be warmed. Knowing that store-bought eggs are supposed to be unfertilized, Luna thought that, while cute, Pi-chan's efforts would be in vain.
That's until something happened that no one could believe. Because on the day the egg started moving around, both Luna and Pi-chan were shocked to see the result.
Born from a faulty egg, this new chick is truly a lucky little guy. Had it not been for Pi-chan's efforts, she would certainly not be here today.
The effects of growing up with a parent behind bars are long-lasting and serious. According to the Prison Fellowship, they can face chronic sleeplessness, difficulties concentrating, and even depression. And nowadays, the number of children who have moms and dads in prison is larger you might think: one in every 28 kids -- that's 2.7 million children.
Some of them are born after their parent is sent to jail.
But thanks to a program called One Day With God, a few of these children got to meet their dads for the first time during a day of fun and much-needed family time.
Grab the tissues, because this one is bound to bring out some tears:
What a wonderful program! If you'd like to learn more about it and maybe even donate to the cause, you can do so here. It's important to never forget the young, silent victims.
Police officers and their canine partners risk their lives to uphold the law. Unfortunately, sometimes that risk results in an injury. Bruno the German Shepard, a hardworking canine officer, was shot in the face while he was chasing a suspect. He had to go into emergency surgery to save his life.
His partner visited as soon as he could -- and the reunion was so heartwarming to see.
This little guy could not be happier to see his best friend!
R.J. and Bruno are as close as partners could be and will always have each other's backs. It's heartwarming to see such an amazing friendship.
