Monday 2/21/11

Human Interest News — Posted on February 21, 2011

Going to the dogs
Every dog has its day. And for some, that day is becoming ever more lavish. Brooklyn dog bakery owner Betty Wong told the Reuters news service that she has seen a rise in orders for dog birthday cakes over the last few years as more and more of her customers are opting to hold birthday parties for their dogs. New York City media buyer Jessica Winston has reportedly thrown two parties for her Bichon Frise named Ernie: one birthday, and one “Bark Mitzvah” party. “In dog years,” she told Reuters, “Ernie turned 13.”

Check the source
When one 10-year-old boy needed help with his science project, he didn’t ask his parents or even his teacher. Instead, the Scottish boy, who was investigating types of rockets, wrote to the most authoritative source on the subject he could think of: NASA. Christopher Allan needed the facts for a two-minute speech before classmates about the Solar System. Then, about two months later, Christopher received a package from a NASA education officer with personalized answers to all of his questions as well as autographed pictures of astronauts. And despite the late response-it arrived after Christopher made his presentation-his teacher allowed him to do his speech again. His classmates, Christopher told the Scottish Sun, “were all really jealous of my letter and information.”

Long fall
When rescue workers found Adam Potter at the base of a mountain late last month, he was examining his map and trying to orient himself to his new surroundings. But when the rescue workers were called, Potter was tumbling down Sgurr Choinnich Mor after losing his footing near the summit of the Scottish mountain. Despite falling from 1,000 feet, tumbling down the face of a cliff, Potter survived with just scrapes on his face and a minor chest injury.

Flashy fingers
Some women glory in their hair. For Jazz Ison Sinkfield, her glory comes from her fingernails. For the past 22 years, the Atlanta woman has shunned fingernail clippers and let her nails grow and grow. Now that she has accumulated more than 16 feet of cumulative fingernails, she says she wants to share her gift with the world. “One day, I want to meet Oprah,” she told WXIA television. “And a lot of more celebrities. And I just want them to hear my story.” Sinkfield has one fingernail in excess of 24 inches, but she will have to gain 11 more inches to catch up with Lee Redmond of Utah, who grew one nail past 35 inches. Despite having gigantic nails that cost about $250 per month to maintain, Sinkfield says she can do most anything anyone else can do-besides tie shoes, type, or bowl.