
Self-taught William Kamkwamba has received praise from business leaders and climate change activists all around the world, including Al Gore.
Given that he was forced to leave school at age 14 because his family could no longer afford the $80-a-year (£50) tuition, his incredible achievements are all the more impressive.
His prospects appeared limited when he returned to his parents’ modest acreage in the Masitala community in rural Malawi.
However, this was not another story of how poverty has hampered the promise of Africa.
Defense against hunger

The village in which the kid lived has never had running water or electricity.
And he wasn’t going to wait for officials or humanitarian organizations to act on his behalf.
After one of Malawi’s worst droughts, which resulted in thousands of deaths and put his family in danger of starving in 2002, there was an even greater need for action.
Because he was unable to go to school, he continued his studies by accessing a nearby library.
His life was forever altered when, as a science enthusiast, he picked up a worn-out textbook and discovered a drawing of a windmill.
“I was quite excited when I discovered the windmill could create energy and pump water,” Mr. Kamkwamba told the BBC News website.
I reasoned, “That might be a defense against hunger. Perhaps I might construct one for myself.”
He labored on his prototype while working with a paraffin lamp in the nights when he wasn’t helping his family grow maize.
But his clever proposal was met with blank stares in his 200-person community.
He says that “many, including my mother, feared I was going mad.” They had never before seen a windmill.
The shock

The fact that the boy spent so much time exploring trash dumps further confused the neighbors.
People mistook me for a pot smoker, he claimed. I explained to them that I was merely creating something for juju (magic), and they said, “Ah, I understand.”
Mr. Kamkwamba, who is now 22 years old, made the blades for the turbine out of plastic tubing that had been flattened by being held over a fire, together with a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber.
In a regretful recollection of his months of laborious labour, Mr. Kamkwamba recounts, “I got a couple electric shocks climbing the [windmill].”
The completed design, a 5-m (16-ft) tall blue-gum tree wood tower that was swaying over Masitala, appeared to be little more than a vain tinkerer’s blunder.
However, when Mr. Kamkwamba climbed the windmill and attached a vehicle light bulb to the turbine, his neighbors’ amusement quickly turned to surprise.
A gathering of amazed witnesses went wild when the light sparked to life and the blades started to spin in the breeze.
The genius child’s 12-watt marvel soon began supplying power to his family’s mud-brick home.
Electric wind

The paraffin lanterns were replaced with light bulbs, a circuit breaker fashioned from the magnets and nails from an old stereo speaker, and a light switch constructed from bicycle spokes and flip-flop rubber.
Soon, locals began standing in line to charge their phones.
When a writer from the Daily Times newspaper in Blantyre produced an article about Mr. Kamkwamba in November 2006, the story was propelled around the blogosphere.
While doing this, he added water storage tanks, constructed a mechanical pump powered by solar energy above a borehole, and provided the area around his town with its first source of potable water.
Having had the wooden base of his initial windmill eaten away by termites, he upgraded it to 48 volts and anchored it in concrete.
Then he constructed a second windmill, which he called the “Green Machine,” to drive a water pump that irrigated his family’s field.
Soon, people from all over the place came to watch at the boy prodigy’s magetsi an mphepo, or “electric wind.”
He received an invitation to the famous Technology Entertainment Design conference in Arusha, Tanzania, in the middle of 2007 as word of his renewable energy projects spread.
Cheetah generation
He remembers how thrilled he was to use a computer for the first time at the occasion.
He remarks, “I had never seen the internet, it was incredible. “I Googled windmills and discovered a lot of information.”
Standing ovations followed the native Chichewa speaker’s hesitant onstage retelling of his tale as he moved the jaded venture capitalists.
He was then featured on the Wall Street Journal’s main page in a glistening photograph.
He is currently enrolled on scholarship at Johannesburg, South Africa’s prestigious African Leadership Academy.
The world is at Mr. Kamkwamba’s feet, but he is determined to go home after his studies. He has been flown to conferences all over the world to share his life story.
With only 2% of Malawians having access to electricity, the local hero wants to finish providing power to the entire country.
I want to use everything I’ve learnt to benefit my country, he declares. I believe there is a great deal of work to be done.
Bryan Mealer, a former reporter for the Associated Press news agency, had been covering conflict in Africa for five years when he learned Mr. Kamkwamba’s tale.
The amazing event was the kind of inspiring tale that New Yorker Mealer had long wished to write about.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which has just been released in the US, was written by the author for a year with Mr. Kamkwamba.
Mealer claims that Mr. Kamkwamba is a representative of Africa’s new “cheetah generation,” a group of youthful, tech-hungry individuals who are taking charge of their own fate.
The 34-year-old Mr. Mealer says, “Spending a year with William writing this book reminded me why I fell in love with Africa in the first place.
It’s the kind of story that reminds us of our own potential and connects with every person.
How long until the film rights to the inspirational tale of overcoming adversity are bought up and William Kamkwamba, the young man who dared to dream, appears on the big screen?

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.

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.

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.

How 'Brad's Drink' Became Pepsi-Cola
Pepsi was first introduced as “Brad’s Drink” in New Bern, North Carolina, United States, in 1893 by Caleb Bradham, who made it at his drugstore where the drink was sold. It was renamed Pepsi Cola in 1898, named after the digestive enzyme pepsin and kola nuts used in the recipe.

Kipekee, the world's only spotless giraffe, was born at Brights Zoo
The world's only spotless giraffe was born at a zoo in the United States. The giraffe born without spots on July 31 is the only one of her kind on Earth.

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.

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.

A man who was saved from committing suicide 16 years ago now assists people dealing with mental health issues
Kevin Berthia traveled to the Golden Gate Bridge in 2005 to commit suicide. He ended up spending 92 minutes on the edge of the bridge talking to officer Kevin Briggs about his life. In much better circumstances, they cross paths at the same bridge ten years later.

A little girl survived a 1-hour submersion in freezing creek water
On June 10, 1986, two-and-a-half-year-old Michelle Funk fell into an icy creek and was submerged for 66 minutes. When rescuers pulled her out of the water, she was not breathing, had no pulse, and appeared lifeless. The doctors used various techniques to rewarm her blood and bring her back to life. She was successfully resuscitated and went on to lead a healthy life.

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

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.

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.

'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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The actions of a 7-year-old girl protected her mother from bullets
A 7-year-old girl jumped in front of her mother to save her from a man who was attempting to kill her in 2007. She was shot six times and survived, as well as saving her mother.

Before "The Rock," There Was "Rocky Maivia"
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s first WWF persona was Rocky Maivia, a face (good guy). The audience rejected him due to his cheesy character, with chants of “Die, Rocky, die!”. After this, he became a heel (villain), referring to himself in the third person as “The Rock” and insulting the audience.

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.

Tourist in China left hanging from 330-ft-high glass bridge as wind blows away its panels
The popular tourist attraction glass-bottomed bridge was shattered after a strong wind blew away its panels. A Chinese tourist was left stranded in strong winds 330 feet up on a glass-bottomed bridge.

The beauty and uniqueness of Fukang Meteorite
This Fukang meteorite is around 4.5 billion years old and weighs more than 2,000 pounds. It was discovered in China in 2014 and is assumed to have formed when our solar system initially formed.

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.

Couple reunites after 60 years apart
A Russian couple were reunited after being separated for 60 years. They were married for 3 days when the husband left to join the Red Army. They were unable to find each other until 60 years later when they randomly visited their hometown on the same day.

Longest burning light bulb, The centennial light bulb in livermore, California
The world's longest lasting light bulb holds the Guinness World Record, and has been illuminating local fire stations in Livermore, California since 1901, the year Queen Victoria died.