
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 Man Who Kept a “Gold” Rock for Years—Only to Discover It Was a 4.6-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Worth a Fortune
A man cherished a heavy 17-kilogram rock for years, believing it to be solid gold. The surprising twist? Experts later revealed it was a rare, 4.6-billion-year-old iron meteorite—an ancient cosmic relic worth far more than gold. Dive into the fascinating story of this celestial treasure and what makes it so valuable.

Aitzaz Hasan, Pakistani school boy who sacrificed his life from suicide bomber
Aitzaz Hasan, a 15 year old Pakistani school boy, sacrificed his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering his school of 2000 students. His father said "My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children."

A woman who had been lost since she was a newborn 51 years ago was said to have been spotted
A woman who had been lost since she was a newborn for 51 years was reported to have been sighted.

'Super obedient' lookout parrot trained by Brazilian drug dealers is seized by police
In 2019, police in Brazil seized a 'super obedient' lookout parrot trained by drug dealers. According to reports, the bird had been taught to alert criminals to police operations by shouting: "Mum, the police!" As soon as the police got close, he started shouting.

A man joins a search operation without realizing he is the missing person
Beyhan Mutlu, a Turkish national, was reported missing by local media and unintentionally joined search teams looking for himself in a forest. He was drunk and lost in the woods when he ended up in a group with others looking for himself.

Story of Forrest Fenn and who he hid a bronze chest treasure full of gold and other jewels
Forrest Fenn, an art dealer, hid a bronze chest full of gold and other jewels somewhere in the Rocky Mountains ten years ago. In a poem, he hinted at its location. Thousands of people tried and failed to find the treasure, which is said to be worth over a million dollars, and at least four people died in the process. In June 2020, the Fenn treasure was discovered.

Lafayette pizza delivery driver who saved 5 from burning house
Nicholas Bostic a 25-year-old pizza delivery man from Lafayette, Indiana, ran into a burning house to rescue four children, who told him there is one more inside. He ran back inside, he found the six-year-old girl, jumped out of a window, carried her to a cop who captured the moment on his bodycam.

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.

A man who has been suffering from headaches for nearly six months discovers chopsticks lodged in his brain
When it was discovered that a Vietnamese man with headaches and vision problems had chopsticks lodged in his brain, the doctors were almost as surprised as the man himself.

The Inspiring Journey of Francis Tsai, Marvel Comics artist diagnosed with ALS
Francis Tsai, an American illustrator and conceptual artist who worked for Marvel Comics, was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. After he lost the ability to move his hands and arms, he started painting digitally on his cellphone with his right big toe. After he could not move his feet anymore, he began using eye-gaze technology to keep drawing.

Whang-od Oggay, The legendary tattoo artist from the Philippines
This is Whang-od Oggay, a 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines. She is often described as the last and oldest Kalinga tattoo artist, and has been performing the traditional art of hand-tapped tattoos since the age of 15

Smart girl saves her family more than 100 people in 2004 tsunami
In 2004, a 10-year-old girl saved her family and 100 other tourists from the Asian tsunami because she had learned about the giant waves in a geography lesson, it has emerged.

Missing Masterpiece Discovered in the Background of ‘Stuart Little’
In 2009, Gergely Barki, an art historian, was watching the film Stuart Little (1999) when he spotted an original long-lost painting used as a prop. Called Sleeping Lady with Black Vase, this painting was the work of Hungarian avant-garde painter Róbert Berény. The painting had been considered lost after World War II.

Leo Grand: from homeless to mobile app developer
In 2013, A young programmer offered a homeless man the choice between $100 cash or coding lessons. Leo Grand chose the lessons, and his first mobile app was “Trees for Cars," which helps drivers find carpooling partners.

A Pilot Survived 20 Minutes Outside A Flying Jet
In 1990, the captain of flight 5390 Timothy Lancaster got sucked out of his own plane when the window of the plane fell off. The crew held the captain’s leg for 30 minutes while the plane performed emergency landing. Everyone survived.

Abraham Crijnssen – The Ship That Disguised Itself As An Island
During World War II a Dutch minesweeper evaded the Japanese for eight days disguised as an island. The crew covered the decks in cut trees and painted exposed surfaces to look like rocks. They moved only at night and anchored closed to shore by day, eventually escaping to Australia.

Max Headroom Incident: America’s Creepiest TV Hack
In 1987 a man hijacked a television station during an episode of Dr. Who and wore a Max Headroom mask and uttered nonsense, and he still hasn’t been caught

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

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.

'Press Your Luck' Was Hacked in 1984 by an Ice Cream Man
in 1984 an contestant made it onto the game show Press Your Luck. He discovered using his stop-motion VCR that the presumed random patterns of the game board were not random and memorized the sequences. On the game he was on, he won 45 consecutive spins. winning $110,237 in cash & prizes.

Elvita Adams jumps from the Empire State Building and amazingly survived
Elvita Adams once tried to commit suicide by jumping off the empire state building. She Jumped from the 86th floor but was blown back to 85th floor by a strong gust of wind.

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.

Man Trapped in the Sahara Desert Constructs a Bike From His Broken-Down Car to Save His Life
A man who became lost in the desert disassembled his broken-down car and turned it into a functional motorcycle, which he used to escape.

The incredible story of a plane that lost its roof in mid-flight and the light signal that saved 94 lives.
On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243 was on the way to Honolulu from Hilo when a huge portion of the upper part of the fuselage blew off the airplane.