Paul Williams was rushing to catch a bus home after ending work at a California Wal-Mart when he made a startling discovery in the parking lot: a wallet containing $4,000 in cash and a $1,000 check - with no ID. Meanwhile, wallet owner Lynn Andries had discovered what she'd lost while shopping in a rush, and had no faith that it would ever be returned.
Dennis Komsa was 12 years old in 1963 when, while vacationing with family along the Jersey Shore, he wrote a note, put it in a glass jar and tossed it into the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't until after Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast last October, that the Ball mason jar was found when Norman Stanton combed through storm debris in Seaside Heights, N.J.
His spirit has been rejuvenated," said Sarah Darling, who accidentally dropped her engagement ring in Billy Ray Harris' donation cup in February. Harris returned the ring, and the story inspired donors around the world. Since the fateful day that Darling's ring landed in his cup, Harris' life has take a 180 degree turn.
In October 2013, Louis Munoz donated one of his kidneys to William Lynch. The organ match would not have occurred without a bit of serendipity and a big love of football: Munoz and Lynch hadn't seen each other in years – then they found themselves randomly seated next to each other with season tickets for San Diego Chargers games.
An Illinois couple wrote a letter saying Hooray for ice storms after what they found while trying to protect their frozen pipes. Tara Catogge and her husband Ian found someone's diamond and sapphire wedding ring while trying to clear the pipes in their kitchen sink last week.
Unemployed, in debt and facing another year living on the streets in Hungary, László Andraschek spent his last remaining coins on a lottery ticket. Now the formerly homeless man is one of Hungary's biggest lottery winners, with a prize of about $2.8 million, and the 55-year-old plans to use his winnings to establish a foundation for addicts.
When 59-year-old Jeff Taylor saw a nativity scene for sale in a thrift shop that reminded him of the one he loved as a boy, he never dreamed that this cardboard set, missing the lamp and the straw, would turn out to be the exact one that had disappeared from his mother's home three decades earlier.
Even more amazing than David Brenner's wedding ring being found under a Vail chair lift five years after it slipped off unnoticed, is the incredible way he heard that it had been recovered last week.
Onlookers cheered rescuers as they pulled a 101-year-old man from beneath the ruins of his house where he was buried for a week after the Nepal earthquake.
Aidan Dwyer is just 13 years old but is already a patented inventor of solar panel arrangements. He noticed a pattern one day in the tangled mess of branches above him and began to investigate whether there is a secret formula in tree design and whether the purpose of the spiral pattern is to collect sunlight better.
A farm dog in the west African country of Ghana is being praised as a hero hound this week after saving the life of an abandoned two-week-old baby. he dog apparently found the baby under a bridge in the northern part of the country. Rather than abandon (or eat) the vulnerable tot, the dog curled up next to him for the night, refusing to leave his side.
A recently adopted dog saved a nine-month old infant who had stopped breathing last Sunday. The dog, named Duke, jumped into bed to wake them after sensing the daughter not breathing in her crib.
In one of nature's best comeback stories, endangered green sea turtles have multiplied in Florida during the past two decades and are now thriving in protected waters. Reported nests have increased more than sixfold since 1990.
Ecover, the green cleaning brand, said on Thursday it will use plastic waste retrieved from the sea to create an entirely new type of sustainable and recyclable plastic bottle. The Belgian company is working with plastic manufacturer Logoplaste to combine plastic trawled from the sea with a plastic made from sugar cane ('Plant-astic') and recycled plastic, in what it is calling a world-first for packaging.
A Saharan tribesman was offered one million euros to drive Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to the Libyan border, where he would escape into exile. Instead, the villager drove the dictator's brutal son into a trap and now is being feted as a hero.
When a 17-year-old St. Petersburg, Fla., girl did a good deed by taking a shelter dog for a walk, she didn't think the pup would return the favor. But Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, did -- when a registered sexual predator attacked the girl.
An organization called One Simple Wish has granted the wishes of more than 3,000 foster children providing a small piece of comfort and joy to kids still in need of a permanent family. Some wishes are important, like music lessons, but some are small, asking for crayons, or backpacks, which gives people of all incomes the opportunity to bless a foster child, especially during the holidays. See the list and grant a wish on the website, www.onesimplewish.org.
Fara, a military explosives detection canine who helped keep our troops safe in Kuwait, returned home to a hero's welcome at Baltimore's BWI Airport, greeted by her adoptive handler, Military Working Dog Adoptions, and a cheering contingent from American Humane Association.
Sports Illustrated has named Conner and Cayden Long the 2012 SportsKids of the Year for their inspiring triathlon performances. Seven-year-old Cayden is unable to walk or talk on his own, but his nine-year-old brother Conner had an idea that would allow the two to participate in sports together. Conner pulls his brother with amazing determination letting him ride in a raft or cart, as the experience bringing them closer together with every race.
Whole Foods Market has partnered with Gotham Greens to build the nation's first commercial-scale rooftop greenhouse for growing year-round local produce atop the store in Brooklyn beginning this fall.
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