
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.

China Weather Control on 2008 Olympics with missile
One thing is certain: when it comes to ensuring nice weather for the world's largest party, the Chinese cannot be accused of being subtle. The Chinese government authorized the use of 1,104 cloud seeding missile launches from 4:00-11:39 p.m. on Friday night to reduce the possibility of rain ahead of the 29th Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing

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.

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.

Unique Dining table with a hole for your cat to peek and join you dinner.
Dinos, a Japanese internet shop, has launched a new range of cat furniture, which includes this oak table with a hole in the middle and a perch underneath. It places your cat companion in the center of the table, making your cat the main focus of your meal, as it should be, because cats are the true proprietors of “your” home.

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.

Water park in japan, ocean dome: Largest indoor water park in the world
The Seagaia Ocean Dome, located in Miyazaki, Japan, was the biggest indoor waterpark in the world. An "Ocean" six times the size of an Olympic pool, filled with 13,500 tons of unsalted, chlorinated water kept heated at 28 degrees Celsius and recognized as the largest simulated pool by the Guinness Book of World Records, measures 12,000 square meters of the sandy beach made from 600 tons of stone.

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.

Toddler Calls 911 Accidentally and Saves Dad's Life
A father from Florida collapsed on the floor during a medical episode. Fortunately, his toddler son dialed 911 by accident and saved his life. An officer from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrived quickly and administered first aid before transporting him to a nearby hospital.

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.

How Being Bugs Bunny Helped This Voice Actor Out of Coma
Mel Blanc; the voice of Bugs Bunny, had been in a serious car accident that put him in a coma. After many unsuccessful attempts to get him to talk, a doctor asked “Bugs, can you hear me” Mel responded in the voice of bugs bunny, “Whats up, Doc? The doctors used this to lead him out of his coma.

This whale tail sculpture saved a train that went off the rails
A train in the Netherlands failed to stop in time and broke through the emergency barrier. It's being held up by the statue of a whale's tail.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A flight attendant uses a secret note to save a teen girl from sex trafficking
The flight attendant Shelia Fredrick. She spotted a distressed girl with an older man. She left a note in the restroom on which the victim wrote that she needed some help. The girl was rescued from a human trafficker after the authorities were informed.

Woman survives skydiving accident, discovers she's pregnant
2005, a woman performing her first solo skydive jump survived a parachute malfunction which caused her to slam face first into a parking lot at 50 MPH. During surgery doctors discovered she was pregnant. She made a full recovery and the baby was fine.

Oreo builds asteroid-proof bunker to protect its cookies and recipes
In October 2020, Oreo builds a concrete bunker in Svalbard, Norway, to protect their recipes in case of an asteroid impact. The vault also contains Oreos wrapped in Mylar and vials of milk powder.

Man uses first-class ticket to eat for free at airport's VIP lounge for almost a year
A Chinese man purchased a First Class Ticket, which included admission to a VIP Lounge with free food. Over the course of a year, he rescheduled over 300 times in order to receive over 300 free dinners. When questioned, it was discovered that he is rescheduling his reservation to another date after eating. He eventually cancelled the ticket and got a full refund.

Mom hears son's heartbeat 3 years after his death when she meets organ recipient
She agreed to donate her son's organs after his sudden death in June 2013 at the age of 7 months. The grieving mother was able to listen to her late son’s heart beating inside the little girl who received the organ after his death.

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.

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.

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

chand baori stepwell in Rajasthan India, Ancient cooling technique
This Chand Baori stepwell in Rajasthan, India is over 1200 years old. It’s called Chand Baori. The air at the bottom of the well is 5-6 degrees cooler than at the surface, so in addition to being a water source, it was used as a community gathering place where locals could escape the heat.