1. Pilot of Rescue Flight for Pets Impacted by Hurricanes Adopts Kitten, Finding ‘Love at 30,000 Feet’
On October 12th, a Southwest Airlines pilot fell in love with a little kitten named Avery while transporting him and 150 other shelter animals out of the path of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Partnering with a charity and an animal rescue, the plan was to take the dogs and cats to Milwaukee from Florence, South Carolina, where they could continue their goal of finding homes for them.
However, Avery couldn’t wait ’till landing, and managed to latch onto Captain Prebis before he made it to Milwaukee.
“It was love at 30,000 feet. I don’t think Captain Matt was expecting to adopt a hurricane evacuee from Tennessee when he agreed to fly this amazingly special flight, but some things are meant to be,” Lucky Dog Animal Rescue CEO Mirah A. Horowitzsaid in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Avery the kitten is definitely a Lucky Cat and was right at home with his new dad in the cockpit once we landed and parked.”
The over 150 cats and dogs had been in the care of animal shelters in eastern Tennessee and Florida prior to the two hurricanes. To secure their safety and ensure the impacted organizations could serve the needs of their communities, the shelter pets were transferred to Lucky Dog Animal Rescue’s Rescue Campus in Florence.
2. Hydrogen-Powered Car Fueled by Sewage Attempting to Break Land Speed Records
A hydrogen-powered car fueled by sewage and manufactured with various recycled materials may soon attempt to break several land speed records.
The car was built by students at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick and will run off a byproduct of wastewater from the utilities company Severn Trent Water.
The Waste2Race Le Mans Prototype race car (LMP3) has been built from a selection of spare and unused parts to further its sustainable street cred in a world little-regarded for its sustainability—motorsport.
The car itself will be used to try to break one of several land speed records depending on how it performs, including the fastest standing and flying starts for both a mile and a kilometer. Its creators hope to have the car fully up and running in the next 6 to 12 months.
The parts themselves come from Ginetta, a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Leeds. Among its green bits and bobs are materials made from recycled carbon fiber and a wing mirror made from beetroot waste.
The steering wheel is also 100% natural, while the firm ENRG Motorsport contributed a battery recovered from a crashed road car.
3. Girl Submits Drawing to Upgrade Playground for Little Kids–And the City Enacted Her Advice
A young Utah resident has had her classroom civics lessons suddenly explode into life after some crayon drawings she made of a better playground became reality.
Her mom brought her to city hall along with her drawing, and being that a new playground was already budgeted for, they followed 11-year-old Rosili Olson’s lead.
Olson, now 12, had made the drawings to sketch out what she thought would be the best playground for her and her younger sisters to play on.
“Rosili realized the playground by her house was suited for ages 5-12 and was not geared toward her younger sister,” Clearfield County officials wrote in the caption of a Facebook video showing off the creation process. “After seeing her initiative and detail, we knew we had to make her dream happen.”
Olson’s mother called city hall and asked if it were possible to bring them in. They agreed, and soon were in the office of Eric Howes, the city’s head of parks and recreation, to make the pitch.
