The “Granborghini" Project Gives Elderly People Joyrides in Supercars

Mark Cody’s grandmother took her own life while suffering depression and loneliness, and that act propelled him to start a turbo-charged effort to reduce social isolation. Called “Granborghini,” the charity connects the elderly in the UK with the owners of supercars made by Ferrari and McLaren to give them a spin. Mark had always promised his grandmother that he would take her for a ride in a Lamborghini one day, but never got the opportunity. That’s why he made a promise to make sure that others have the same chance in the name of preventing future tragedies of isolation. “We’ve had people step out of the car and say ‘I feel like a rock star’ or ‘I feel 20 years younger,'” said Mark. “It’s so heart-warming and overwhelming emotionally to see people's reactions.” Partnering with Mark is 82-year-old Betty Tynan, organizer of the small social group called Friendship Lunches, and also the first grandmother to get behind the wheel of one of the supercars. Tynan revealed recently that even though the opportunity was there to drive one, the members of the luncheon club were like wildebeest at the edge of the river, waiting to see who’s the first one to jump in. For starters, the low riding cars are a bit difficult to get in and out of, but Tynan is a social soul and wanted to have a go immediately. The McLaren’s owner, Robin Gibbons, said he got involved with Granborghini in order to do exactly what he wanted to do when he bought the car: make people smile. “They’ve got a good few cars here and I’m hoping to get in every one,” said Tynan. “It’s made our lives, doing this.”

 

Mark prepares to take 85-year-old Toni for a ride

Bessie Watts (left) is taken for a spin in a Maclaren by Robin Gibbons (right)

 

Continue Reading...

Kidnap Victim Elizabeth Smart Has Become a Bodybuilder

At the tender age of 14, Elizabeth Smart was thrust into the national spotlight when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City and held captive for nine months before being rescued. Now she’s entering the limelight for an entirely different reason. The 38-year-old child safety activist posted a photo showing her physique at a recent bodybuilding competition. It was the fourth competition she participated in, but was too afraid to post before. Worried that she would be judged and not taken seriously made her keep her new hobby to herself. She explained how she changed her mind: “Then this past weekend it struck me how eerily familiar these feelings and thoughts are for too many survivors. I think it’s easy to be labeled as one thing, and honestly, that’s not me, nor do I think it’s any of us. We are more than just one topic, one idea, one label.” She went on to explain that bodybuilding has challenged her not to give up and she refuses to be ashamed of it. Smart said she refuses to feel embarrassed for trying new things, and she wants to embrace life to the fullest extent. “I only hope that we all find the courage to chase new experiences, goals, bettering ourselves, and most importantly happiness.”

 

 

Continue Reading...

Until 1950, U.S. Weathermen Were Forbidden From Talking About Tornadoes

In the first half of the 20th century, tornadoes were all over the United States, destroying whole towns, screaming through the papers, tearing up the newsreels, and whipping Dorothy from Kansas to Oz. However, there was one place you wouldn’t find them: the weather report. From 1887 until 1950, American weather forecasters were forbidden from attempting to predict tornadoes; even mentioning them was considered career suicide. During that time, Roger Edwards of the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said that tornadoes were considered "dark and mysterious menaces of unfathomable power, fast-striking monsters from the sky capable of sudden and unpredictable acts of death and devastation.” Less than confident in their own ability to predict tornadoes and fearful of the responses of a panicky public, forecasters replaced the word “tornado” with euphemisms like “severe local storms.” General Adolphus Greely, who helped organize the U.S. Weather Bureau, wrote to Congress: “It is believed that the harm done by such predictions would eventually be greater than that which results from the tornado itself.” Finally, in 1950, the U.S. Weather Bureau lifted the ban on using the word “tornado", believing that it was better to give the public time to prepare than to keep them in the dark and possibly cause a loss of lives.

Continue Reading...

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’re looking for a quick and easy chocolate chip cookie recipe, this one is for you. It’s a one-bowl recipe that makes soft chocolate chip cookies is less than 20 minutes — no mixer necessary, no chilling needed. There’s one thing you need to be careful of — flour packs easily and using too much flour in cookies will give you dry, crumbly dough and cookies that don’t spread — so make sure you sift the flour before measuring and make sure your measurement is precise.

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ¼ cup brown sugar 

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 large egg

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour 

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350º F.

• Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds. Butter should be completely melted but not hot.

• In a large bowl, mix butter with the sugars until well-combined.

• Stir in vanilla and egg until incorporated.

• Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. 

• Mix dough until just combined. Dough should be soft and a little sticky but not overly sticky.

• Stir in chocolate chips.

• Scoop out 1½ tablespoons of dough (medium cookie scoop) and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

• Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. They will be puffy and still look a little under-baked in the middle.

Continue Reading...