upworthy
Heroes

Welcome to Libby, Montana, population 2,691 — a town forever changed by asbestos.

The heartbreaking history of Libby, Montana.

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EWG Action Fund

Welcome to Libby, Montana, population 2,691.

In many ways, Libby is like any other small town. It sits nestled between bits of national forest, it has a train station and a few schools (go Loggers!), and for many years its economy was supported by the nearby logging and mining operations.

But in other ways, Libby is very different.

Downtown Libby, Montana. Image: U.S. EPA.

Libby has a heartbreaking story to tell.

For decades, the company W.R. Grace operated a vermiculite mine in Libby. Vermiculite is a mineral used for insulation and fireproofing in many building materials. (By the way, it's also the material used for those little white balls in potting soil.)

The vermiculite mine in Libby provided ... over 70% of all vermiculite sold in the U.S. between 1919 and 1990.

The vermiculite mine in Libby provided hundreds of jobs, as well as over 70% of all vermiculite sold in the U.S. between 1919 and 1990. And while vermiculite itself isn't known to be harmful, the Libby mine also included a large deposit of something much more dangerous: asbestos.

The asbestos in Libby's mine has caused 400 deaths — and counting.

Mining the vermiculite that lay alongside asbestos released harmful asbestos fibers into the air. The asbestos appeared as a fine dust that coated the entire mine — it got everywhere — and caused harm not only to the mine workers, but to their friends, family, and other town residents as well.

But it's never easy to criticize a company that plays such a huge role in a town's life. In the 2004 documentary "Libby, Montana" by High Plains Films, one resident explained:

"[W.R.] Grace was on the school board, Grace was on the hospital board, Grace owned the bank. And when you talked about dust control here and ... what [the dust] was doing harmful to these people here, the first thing to come out of their mouth was 'You gonna close that mine down, and you gonna put all these people out of work?' Well you didn't have very many friends here when you started talking like that."

Mine manager Earl Lovick held town positions outside the mine. Images: "Libby, Montana."

Fast-forward to today: An estimated 400 people in Libby have died from asbestos-related diseases, and more than 2,000 have been sickened by the asbestos. Hundreds more deaths are expected from these diseases, as they can take decades to manifest.

Records show that W.R. Grace knew about the adverse health effects from asbestos in the mine many years before the mine's closure in 1990. Mine manager Earl Lovick, who died of asbestosis in 1999, testified to having knowledge of the presence and dangers of asbestos. (Check out 9:46 and 12:24 in the video below for clips of Lovick's statements.)

The company has since paid out millions of dollars in settlement money for civil cases concerning the effects of the asbestos. In 2008, W.R. Grace faced thousands of personal injury claims and agreed to settle all present and future claims via a trust. The amount of money they're doling out is nearly incomprehensible. But does it really make up for the deaths and the sickness?

Libby continues to heal ... slowly but surely.

In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded to widespread concerns surrounding the asbestos in Libby. The agency collected hundreds of samples from around Libby. In 2002, the site was declared a Superfund site, and cleanup began.

A 2014 draft of the EPA's human health risk assessment states, "It is now possible to live and work in Libby without excessive exposure to asbestos. ... Remaining asbestos needs to be safely managed."

The asbestos risk may be under control (or close to it), but that doesn't mean the people of Libby have forgotten how W.R. Grace changed the course of their town's history.

Here's an excerpt from High Plains Films' documentary "Libby, Montana," which tells the story of asbestos exposure in Libby:

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BigFuture
BigFuture Scholarships
Education

She fell in love with endangered porpoises at age 7. Now, she's on a mission to save the ocean.

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When Rachel Heimke was seven, she realized what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Little did she know a $40,000 BigFuture Scholarship would help her pursue her dreams.

Heimke and her parents were living an unconventional lifestyle, to say the least. The summer after she completed first grade, she and her parents boarded a sailboat and sailed from their hometown in Alaska down the Pacific Coast. The family would spend the next two years traveling on the water, passing Mexico and then sailing across the world to Australia before returning home. It was on the sailboat, watching whales and dolphins breach the water under their boat, that Heimke realized her life’s purpose.

“I was really obsessed with these little porpoises called Vaquitta, who only live in one tiny area of water off the coast of Mexico,” she recalled. “When I learned about them as a kid, there were only 22 left in the wild. Now, there are only ten.” Despite her interest, Heimke was never able to actually see any Vaquitta on her trip, both because of their inherent shyness and because they were so critically endangered due to detrimental fishing policies in the area. “That was my wakeup call,” she says. “I’ll probably never be able to see this porpoise, and I don’t want that to be true of other species.”

Now a young woman of 23, Heimke is realizing her childhood dream of ocean conservation by recently graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in ocean sciences and enrolling in a grad program in Canada to study science communication. Heimke is well on her way to achieving her childhood dream—but she acknowledges that none of this would have been possible without her ocean adventures as a child, the support of her parents, and significant financial support.

At 18, when Heimke was deciding where to study ocean sciences, she stumbled upon an opportunity from BigFuture, College Board's free college and career planning site. The opportunity was the BigFuture Scholarship, which provided students the chance to win a $40,000 scholarship by completing six action items on the website. Heimke was intrigued, since she didn’t need to provide an essay, her GPA, or any test scores to enter. Her eligibility was also not tied to citizenship status or family income, so she decided to give it a shot.

“One of the action items was just going on the BigFuture site and creating a list of colleges I was interested in,” said Heimke. Another item required her to apply for financial aid through FAFSA—something Heimke was planning to do anyway. Every completed action item gave students more chances to win the scholarship, so Heimke completed all six action items quickly.

Months later, Heimke’s parents ushered her over to a call over Zoom, where she met a BigFuture representative who had some surprising news: She was one of 25 students who had won the $40,000 BigFuture college scholarship. Each year she would receive $10,000 in scholarship funding, which would cover her entire tuition bill for all four years of schooling.

“That experience taught me that it’s really important to not give up on your goals and just go for opportunities,” said Heimke. “I never thought I would win anything, but I’ve learned it's worth applying anyway. Even a small scholarship of $1,000 can pay your rent for a month,” she said. “And If you write an essay that takes an hour and you win $5,000, that’s probably the most money per hour you’ll ever make in your life.”

The tuition money made it possible for her to attend college, and for her to apply to graduate school immediately afterward without any financial burdens.

“Now that I’m in graduate school and paying for rent and a phone bill and graduate school tuition, it’s truly a blessing to not have student loan debt on top of that,” Heimke said. Because of the BigFuture scholarship, Heimke doesn’t need to pay for her graduate program either—she’s able to fund her education with the money her parents saved by not having to pay for her undergraduate degree.

One of the biggest blessings, Heimke said, was not needing to delay graduate school to work or find extra funds. With climate change worsening, entering the workforce becomes increasingly important over time.

“I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do with my degrees, but I hope to have a lot of different jobs that ultimately will work toward saving our ocean,” she said.

As a child, witnessing marine life up close and personal was life-changing. Heimke’s goal is for future generations to have that experience, as she did.

To learn more and get started, visit bigfuture.org/scholarships.

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Science

MIT’s trillion-frames-per-second camera can capture light as it travels

"There's nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera."

photo from YouTube|Nova50

Photographing the path of light.

A new camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second (fps).

Compare that with a traditional movie camera which takes a mere 24fps. This new advancement in photographic technology has given scientists the ability to photograph the movement of the fastest thing in the Universe: light.

The actual event occurred in a nano second—that is one billionth of a second—but the camera has the ability to slow it down to twenty seconds.

time, science, frames per second, bounced light

The amazing camera.

Photo from YouTube|Nova50

For some perspective, according to New York Times writer John Markoff, "If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years."


In the video below, you'll see experimental footage of light photons traveling 600-million-miles-per-hour through water.

It's impossible to directly record light, so the camera takes millions of scans to recreate each image. The process has been called "femto-photography" and according to Andreas Velten, a researcher involved with the project, "There's nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera."


This article originally appeared seven years ago.

From Your Site Articles
science
Joy

Couple's 'Merry Gen Xmas' song is the ultimate holiday anthem for 80s kids

"Nobody did Xmas like Gen X."

Holderness Family Music/Youtube

Wow, the things people did for a Cabbage Patch doll.

Once upon a time—the 70s and 80s, to be exact—Christmas didn’t have iPads, or FaceTiming grandma, or comparing gift hauls on social media. Instead, it provided trees filled to the brim with tinsel, holiday figurines that looked ancient and quite possibly possessed, and the only “high tech” toy in sight would be something battery operated. Or maybe one of those new fangled “video games” everyone’s talking about.

But alas, time moves on. These once cool and trendy gifts, along with many Gen X staples, have now become relics of a bygone era. Kim and Penn Holderness of The Holderness Family have a knack for capturing this strange phenomenon—otherwise known as growing older—in the form of endearingly funny parody songs and sketches.

Whether they’re poking fun at the *thrill* of perimenopause or the utter dismay of hearing your favorite jams get demoted to waiting room music, their videos offer equal parts nostalgia and relatable humor…and sometimes even certifiable bops!

Take for instance their recent "Merry Gen-Xmas" song, where Kim and Penn pay homage to when the holidays were simpler. When Pac Man, Teddy Ruxpin, Cabbage Patch Dolls and other rudimentary toys could make children’s spirits soar.

Keep listening to the tune, however, and the Holdernesses don’t spare us of the more…ahem…questionable aspects of Gen X Christmases—smoking inside being the norm, around a plethora of flammable materials, just to name a big one.

As icing on the cake, Kim and Penn include a ton of old childhood photos submitted by their viewers, which really take you back. So. Much. Sepia.

Watch how “nobody did Xmas like Generation X” below:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Feeling seen, Gen Xers? Judging by the comments, you’re not alone. So many folks flooded the comments section of this one with their own similar childhood memories, or their own personal version of “LOL.” A few were even moved—and many felt a wave of appreciation to have grown up in a simpler time. Read below.

“Remember when we used to make ashtrays in school for gifts.”

“Goodness I wasn't prepared to get emotional watching this. As an 80's kid this was such a great bit of nostalgia. You all outdid yourself on this one.”

“As someone born in '69, I am so grateful I did not grow up in an electronic bubble! We knew how to have fun because we made it. This video is absolutely incredible, Thank you for making it!”

“Why am I crying? This is funny but making me cry too.”

“This song is awesome. It embraces nostalgia, but also acknowledges that not everything in the past was good.”

“Seriously getting teary-eyed at that. I'm a Xennial and so my memories of the early Christmases are vague. But I always love looking back at the photos. Me and my cousins all in matching Christmas dresses, yes made by my mom, and most likely worn the next year also.”

And boy, those Cabbage Patch dolls really brought out the worst in humanity, didn’t they?

“I'm a 60s and 70s generation fella. When the 80s rolled around, and when they showed on TV how people were fighting over those Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, I and others of my Generation were shocked in horror. MY WORD ! Those people should have been in the WWF ! In fact, I think the WWF would shivered in fear of those crazy CPF (Cabbage Patch Fighters) ! It was a whole different experience for my generation, seeing such things.”

“I can recall when I was 10 or 11 at the height of the Cabbage Patch Doll craze. I never wanted one, I was too old for dolls then, but we were at a store shopping when a shipment of them was revealed. I will never forget it, this crowd of women attacked that large pyramid of dolls like animals. Running, screaming, fighting. It was a spectacle I'll never forget. It was really disgraceful. It was weeks before Christmas.”

But also, the best…

“My parents were teachers and could NOT afford a cabbage patch doll so my mom made me one, with Pink hair! (She purchased the head at the craft shop) I was SOOOOO happy! The lady at the shop said to ‘be sure to stuff it really well’ so 41 years later this homemade doll is still standing up, arms out like she’s expecting a big hug. My sweet mom signed the bum with her own name and I still have it today. Rip to my mom who made me SO happy as an 8 year old!!”

Thanks to Kim and Penn for for giving us all a trip back in time, and all the complex feeling that come with it.

From Your Site Articles
family
Fatherhood

Dad and daughter relationships, as explained by 10 paintings.

The amazing bond between dads and daughters.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

I have plenty of space.


It's hard to truly describe the amazing bond between dads and their daughters.

Being a dad is an amazing job no matter the gender of the tiny humans we're raising. But there's something unique about the bond between fathers and daughters. Most dads know what it's like to struggle with braiding hair, but we also know that bonding time provides immense value to our daughters. In fact, studies have shown that women with actively involved fathers are more confident and more successful in school and business.

You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? I'll just let these images sum up the daddy-daughter bond.

A 37-year-old Ukrainian artist affectionately known as Soosh, recently created some ridiculously heartwarming illustrations of the bond between a dad and his daughter, and put them on her Instagram feed. Sadly, her father wasn't involved in her life when she was a kid. But she wants to be sure her 9-year-old son doesn't follow in those footsteps.

"Part of the education for my kiddo who I want to grow up to be a good man is to understand what it's like to be one," Soosh told Upworthy.

There are so many different ways that fathers demonstrate their love for their little girls, and Soosh pretty much nails all of them.

Get ready to run the full gamut of the feels.

1. Dads can do it all. Including hair.

relationships, fathers, dads

I’ve got this.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

2. They also make pretty great game opponents.

daughters, daughter, father

Sharing life strategy.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

3. And the Hula-Hoop skills? Legendary.

bonding, dad, child

Tight fitting hula-hoop.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

4. Dads know there's always time for a tea party regardless of the mountain of work in front of them.

family bond, parent, child-bond

Dad makes time.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

5. And their puppeteer skills totally belong on Broadway.

love, guidance, play

Let’s play.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

6. Dads help us see the world from different views.

sociology, psychology, world views

Good shoulders.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

7. So much so that we never want them to leave.

travel, inspiration, guidance

More dad time please.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

8. They can make us feel protected, valued, and loved.

protectors, responsibilities, home

Always the protector.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

9. Especially when there are monsters hiding in places they shouldn't.

superhero, monsters, sleeping

Dad is superman.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

daddy-daughter bond, leadership, kids

Never a big enough bed.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

Seeing the daddy-daughter bond as art perfectly shows how beautiful fatherhood can be.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

From Your Site Articles
Joy

15 years ago Craig Ferguson told us 'Why everything sucks' and it makes all kinds of sense

Is this where everything changed?

via Wikimedia Commons

Craig Ferguson speaking onstage.

Craig Ferguson was the host of The Late Late Show on CBS from 2005 to 2014. He's probably best remembered for his stream-of-conscious, mostly improvised monologues that often veered from funny observations to more serious territory.

In 2009, he opened his show explaining how marketers have spent six decades persuading the public into believing that youth should be deified. To Ferguson, it's the big reason "Why everything sucks."


"In the 1950s, late '50s, early '60s, a bunch of advertising guys got together on Madison Avenue and decided to try to sell products to younger people. 'We should try to sell to younger people because then they will buy things their whole lives,'" Ferguson explained.

The problem is, according to Ferguson, that young people are "kind of stupid."

"So the deification of youth evolved and turned into the deification of imbecility. It became fashionable to be young and to be stupid," he continued.

'Why everything sucks'

On a deeper level, Ferguson makes the point that exalting youth and inexperience over wisdom and experience runs contrary to the way of nature.

"Then what happened is that people were frightened to not be young," he said. "They started dyeing their hair, they started mutilating their faces and their bodies in order to look young. But you can't be young forever, that's against the laws of the universe."

Calling marketers' war on the over-49 set the reason why "everything sucks" may be a bit of an exaggeration. But the takeaway from Ferguson's monologue is spot-on. There's no reason to feel bad about aging. You've got experience, wisdom, probably better credit, and have learned that Saturdays are a lot more fun after you've been to bed by 10:00 pm on Friday.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

From Your Site Articles
comedy
Internet

People are losing their minds over this circle-filled optical illusion

Yes, there really are circles there.

@DrGBuckingham/Twitter

The coffer iIllusion appears to be nothing but right angles, but there really are circles in there.

Optical illusions are always fun to play with, but some can be particularly challenging on the old eyes and brain. It's fascinating to see how different people process them and how quickly or slowly—or sometimes not at all—people see things that aren't really there or see images hidden within other images.

Not to brag, but I'm kind of an optical illusion savant. It usually doesn't take me longer than a few seconds to see whatever it is people say they are seeing. But occasionally an illusion comes along that stumps me to the point where I wonder if people are actually lying about what they are seeing.

This rectangle/circle illusion is one of those.

It's called the coffer illusion and was created by Stanford University psychologist and vision scientist Anthony Norcia.

It actually won Best Illusion of the Year in 2006.

The image is made up of a pattern of black, white and gray lines of various shades that create the illusion of rectangles. It's easy enough to see the rectangles.

What's not so easy to see are the 16 circles in the image. Yes, they really are there.

Take a look:

Seriously, at first my brain said, "Nope." How could there be circles? All I see are straight lines. Straight lines horizontally. Straight lines vertically. Not a single curved line anywhere in sight. How can there be circles if there are nothing but right angles in the image?

So I did what any self-respecting social-media-savvy person would do and started scrolling the comments to see if anyone explained how they saw circles.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead if you're still trying to see the circles on your own.)

One way to see the circles is to focus on the vertical bars between the rectangles. For some, that makes the circles suddenly pop off the screen.

For those who need more of a visual clue, someone broke it down with colored shapes, literally circling one of the circles.

Once you see them, it's pretty easy to switch back and forth, but hoo boy, does it take a while to actually see them the first time.

Why is that?

According to an explanation from Associate Professor Alex Holcombe and PhD student Kim Ransley from the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney, the reason we have a hard time seeing the circles at first is because of our brain's strong tendency to identify objects in what we're seeing. The lines come together to form edges, contours and shapes, and our brains fill in the objects.

"For most people, the grouping into rectangles initially dominates," the authors write. "This may be because rectangles (including the ones we see in door panels) are often more common than circles in our daily environment, and so the brain favours the grouping that delivers rectangular shapes."

I figure it's also likely due to the rectangles looking more 3D (therefore like a real object) while the circles appear as 2D.

Aren't our brains amazing?


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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