Saturday, April 9, 2016

It wasn’t all bad

Ashima Shiraishi is a rockclimbing prodigy. Just a week before her 15th birthday, the New York City high schooler scaled a massive boulder on Japan’s Mount Hiei without ropes or harnesses. The climb had a difficulty rating of V15 out of V16—about as tough as a boulder climb can get. That makes Shirashi not only the first woman to complete a V15 but also the youngest person—male or female—to ever do so. “Ashima is unstoppable right now,” says Angie Payne, a top U.S. climber. “I don’t see that slowing down anytime soon

Jonathan the giant tortoise is feeling his freshest in 184 years. Hatched in 1832, the world’s oldest living animal got his first-ever bath last week in preparation for a British royal visit to his home on St. Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Using a soft brush, loofah, and surgical soap, island vet Joe Hollins spent an hour scrubbing nearly two centuries’ worth of grime from Jonathan’s shell. “He looks so much cleaner, and he seemed to enjoy the whole experience,” Hollins said. “Hopefully he won’t have to wait another 185 years before his next bath.”

When 5-year-old Allison Anderwald noticed that her mom, Tracy, was lying motionless at the bottom of their backyard pool, the fearless Texas girl dove right in. Allison pulled her mom to the shallow end and lifted her head above the water before running to get help. Tracy had suffered a seizure and fallen unconscious, and would likely have drowned had her daughter not acted fast. “It is truly amazing that this little girl, who’s actually also pretty small for her age, was able to save my sister,” said Allison’s aunt, Tedra Hunt. “She’s our little mermaid and my little hero.

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