
Ingenious brides from all over the nation showed their creativity and support for the war effort by making wedding gowns out of parachutes during World War II. Because it was difficult to find fabric for bridal gowns, brides learned to improvise or go without. The white nylon or silk fabric became surplus if a parachute was rejected for any reason, and parachute manufacturers were held to high standards. Many brides used that extra fabric to make their wedding dresses. This is the tale of a bride who married in a parachute during World War II.
The Navy created WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the summer of 1942. By assigning enlisted women to their onshore positions in place of men, WAVES hoped to free up men for sea duty. Massachusetts native Janet Gleason, age 20, made the decision to join the WAVES. She worked as a Parachute Rigger Second Class at Joint Fort Dix Army Air Force Base in New Jersey.

Reo Arland Casper, a 19-year-old native of Idaho, signed up for the draft that same summer. He soon joined the US Marines and was accepted into their top paratrooper training program. 40% of potential submariners failed the rigorous fitness test required for enrollment in the program. They were also forbidden from getting married. Reo received specialized training at Fort Dix before being elevated to the rank of Sergeant.
In the classroom, where Paramarines and Navy WAVES both attended training, Janet caught Reo’s attention one day as they were learning how to fold and pack a parachute.

They became good friends. Reo and Janet loved attending concerts at Radio City Music Hall and taking long walks in Central Park. They quickly fell in love. Reo had finished his training and was getting ready to leave for another country. He had one more jump to make before graduating, and Janet packed his chute with care. Reo prepared to ship after receiving orders. He requested Janet’s hand in marriage before departing. As soon as the war was over, they intended to get married.
Reo and Janet consistently wrote each other letters and hoped to be reunited someday. Given that she couldn’t afford a wedding gown, Janet’s commanding officer gave her a Japanese silk parachute. The stunning silk was the ideal material for a wedding dress.

Janet created and sewed her wedding dress then carefully storing it away while she awaited the end of the war. Reo finally experienced that day on October 19, 1945, when he traveled back to the country for his formal discharge in California. He made plans with Janet for them to meet up in his native Idaho. After three years, Janet boarded a train, bringing them back together at last.
The couple faced difficulties as their wedding preparations got underway when Reo’s mother objected to the wedding. She was worried about the couple’s contrasting religious beliefs. Reo and Janet decided to elope on October 31, 1945, after traveling to Dillon, Montana. After meticulously designing and sewing a wedding gown from a parachute, Janet was finally able to wear it.
The marriage between Reo and Janet lasted 58 years. Reo died in 2005, a year after she did in 2004. The historical dress was later worn by both their daughter and their son’s bride, and today is housed at the Smithsonian Institution as a significant item in American History.
The story of parachute wedding dress
During an unsuccessful WWII mission, Maj. Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, managed to save both the parachute and the groom. He was returning to an Allied base in August 1944 after bombing Japan’s Yowata city when his engine caught fire. Over China, the entire crew was forced to jump ship, and that’s when the life-saving epic parachute opened. That night, as Hensinger waited for dawn, it also served as a blanket and a pillow.
Fortunately, the crew was able to reunite the following day, and they were welcomed by hospitable Chinese. Maj. Hensinger made it back to the US safely, and when the war came to an end a year later, he moved back to his home state of Pennsylvania, bringing his life-saving parachute with him.
Once Claude was back in the real world, he made the decision to find Ruth and start dating her. When it came time to make the marriage proposal, Ruth was surprised to see Hensinger on his knee instead of offering a ring but the priceless cloth that had helped him during the war.

The Crystal Maiden of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave
Located in Belize, there is a cave where the remnants of ancient Maya human sacrifices can be witnessed. However, reaching the back of the cave system requires swimming, wading through a cave river, and crawling through narrow, uneven rocky passages in darkness. Once there, visitors can walk among the numerous corpses of sacrifice victims, including The Crystal Maiden, an 18-year-old whose skeleton has become calcified to the point of sparkling.

Hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar turning phasing out their local money in 2015
Hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar made it one of the lowest valued currencies in the world. So the country abandoned it in 2009, and switched to using foreign money. In 2015, to complete the process of phasing out their local money, the government offered to exchange it at a rate of one US dollar for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.

The fearless Annie Lee Cooper
Annie Lee Cooper was fired in 1963 after attempting to register to vote. She attempted it once more in 1965, but the sheriff ordered her to leave after prodding her in the neck with a club. She then punched him, causing him to fall to the ground. She was imprisoned before ultimately registering to vote. Following the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the sheriff was ousted and subsequently imprisoned for collaborating to transport drugs, but Annie Lee Cooper lived to reach 100 years old and bears her name to this day.

Photos: This man sold everything 45 years ago to buy a bike and travel 6,000 miles from India to Sweden to see his love.
An Indian man traveled from India to Sweden on a bicycle to meet his Swedish wife in 1978. The journey took him 4 months and through eight countries.

stranded hikers rescued by a life-saving iPhone feature
Stranded hikers were rescued by a life-saving iPhone feature that an awful lot of folks don't know a lot about.

Who invented the three-point seat belt?
While employed by Volvo in 1959, Swidish engineer Nils Bohlin created the three-point safety belt. Volvo first had the design patented, but soon as they discovered its importance as a new safety measure, they made the patent open to everyone. Millions of lives were genuinely spared by Volvo’s gift to the world.

Megamouth Shark And Her Babies Found Dead In The Philippines
Filipino zoologists have recorded a pregnant megamouth shark for the first time ever since the rare aquatic specie was discovered in 1974.

The Terrifying Mount St. Helens Eruption is Captured by the Robert Landsburg Photographs
Robert Landsburg, a photographer who upon realisation that he is going to die in the mount St. Helens eruption of 1980 lay down on top if his equipment to preserve the photographs he had taken of the events. Landsburg‘s body was found 17 days later, buried in ash with his film intact.

The world’s longest flight spent more than two months in the air
Roberts Timm and Jim Cook, two pilots, flew an aircraft for more than two months without landing in 1958. Matching the speed of a truck moving down the road to refuel. A mattress for sleeping, a small steel sink for personal hygiene, the removal of most interior fittings to reduce weight, and a basic autopilot were among the improvements.

From Ocean Trash to Trendy Kicks: Adidas Sells 1 Million Eco-Friendly Shoes Made from Plastic Bottles
Adidas has sold over 1 million eco-friendly shoes made from ocean plastic. Each pair reuses the equivalent of 11 plastic bottles

Self-taught William Kamkwamba built a windmill for his town
A Malawian teenager who taught himself how to build a windmill out of junk and bring power to his village. He then went on to build a second, larger windmill to power irrigation pumps. He did this all from books he read in the library.

A U.S. Submarine Collides with a Japanese Fishing Ship in 2001
In 1998, 14-year-old Michael Crowe was charged with the murder of his sister. The police started targeting him after he seemed “distant and preoccupied” when his sister’s body was discovered, and during interrogation, police coercion led him to make a false confession. He was later declared factually innocent and the family won a lawsuit of $7.25 million in 2011.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Hospital Security Blocked NICU Access for Father of Premature Twins
A father was denied access to see his premature twins in the NICU when Beyonce and Jay-Z had their daughter at the same time.

The accidentally discovery of Riace bronzes
Stefano Mariottini was snorkeling off the coast of Monasterace near Riace in 1972 when he noticed a human hand sticking out of the sand and called the police, thinking it was a corpse. It was actually two statues of "Warriors from Riace" - 5th century BC Greek bronze statues.

Mystery of 300-year-old mummified mermaid is being probed
There is a 300-year-old mummified mermaid with 30 centimetres tall and features a human-like head, two hands with what appear to be fingernails, and its lower body that look like a fish tail. The “mermaid mummy” is being probed by Japanese scientists in an attempt to unravel the mystery of its existence.

The rescuing hug - the touching story of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson
Brielle and Kyrie Jackson’s lifesaving hug was captured when Brielle was struggling to breathe and going blue. As a final option, the nurse deviated from protocol and placed them in the same incubator. Kyrie wrapped her arm around her sister, who immediately began to stabilize

Croatian teenager wakes up from coma speaking fluent in German In 2010
In 2010, a Croatian teenager awoke from a coma to discover she could no longer speak Croatian but was fluent in German, a language she had just recently begun studying at school in the United Kingdom. reports in the press

Drive-Thru Weddings in Las Vegas: The Ultimate Fast, Fun, and Legal Way to Say “I Do”
Inspired by fast food convenience, Las Vegas offers drive-thru weddings where couples can legally marry in under 5 minutes—without leaving their car. Some chapels even offer curbside Elvis impersonators and 24/7 ceremonies, complete with “to-go” marriage licenses.

A story of a man Survived Inside Sunken Ship For Three Days
A man survived a sunken ship for nearly three days, 279 feet underwater and in complete darkness, while listening to fish eat the bodies of his shipmates.

Baby Lynlee 'born twice' after life-saving tumour surgery
Baby Lynlee was "born twice." First, surgeons brought her out of the womb to remove a spinal tumor. After the successful surgery, she was placed back and born again as a healthy baby girl.

Before Hollywood, Christopher Walken Was a Teenage Lion Tamer with a Lioness Named Sheba
Before acting, Christopher Walken worked as a lion tamer in a circus at age 16. He performed with a lioness named Sheba and described the job as surprisingly calm—just another day before Hollywood stardom.

People are freaked out because they keep finding 'help me' messages under the cap of Sobe bottles
With their bottle caps that said, "Help me, I'm trapped in SoBe factory," SoBe Beverage discovered the hard way that forced labor is serious business. This is an example of when humor can be overdone.

Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies
Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.

Australian man dies, comes back to life, and wins the lottery twice
Bill Morgan, an Australian, is a man who has beat the odds. He escaped death by surviving a horrific automobile accident and heart attack before collapsing into a coma and going on to win the lotto twice. He went from losing virtually everything to winning far more than he could have imagined.

Neerja Bhanot, the braveheart flight attendant was never run away from a crisis
Neeja Bhanot, a 22 year old Indian flight attendant who helped hides 41 American passports aboard a hijacked plane. She died shielding three children from gunfire and was posthumously awarded bravery medals from India, Pakistan, and the United States.