Kidney donations, a sea of crickets, horse rescues: This week's heartwarming, offbeat headlines
From a son donating a kidney to his mother to lifelong friends splitting a lottery jackpot, there was no shortage of heartwarming and intriguing tales this week. Here are some of our favorite heartwarming and offbeat stories from July 16-22 that have helped make our days a little brighter - or at least, more interesting:
1. JJ Watt offers to help fan pay for grandfather's funeral so she can keep her jersey, shoes: Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt has graciously offered to help out a fan who said she was selling her shoes and jersey in order to raise money for her grandfather's funeral.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 17: Defensive end J.J. Watt #99 of the Arizona Cardinals watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cardinals defeated th (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
2. Candy company will pay you $100K a year to be its official taste tester: Candy Funhouse, an online, Canada-based candy store, is hiring a taste tester — the world’s first chief candy officer — at a salary of $100,000 a year.
M&Ms candy Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
3. SRP worker rescues wild horse stuck in Arizona canal: A Salt River Project worker rescued a wild horse that got stuck in a canal after going in to get a drink on a hot Arizona day.
4. In Alabama, rare 400-pound spotted eagle ray jumps into boat, gives birth: When an Alabama family set out to wrangle a big fish for the 2022 Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, the last thing they expected was to see a rare spotted eagle ray come flopping into their boat.
"Their white spots likely provide some camouflage protection from shark predators," said Brian Jones of the Daughin Island Sea Lab. (April Jones )
5. Donations top $300K for Nicholas Bostic — man who saved 5 kids from house fire: A GoFundMe account for an injured pizza deliveryman who saved five trapped children from a house fire has raised more than $300,000.
6. Woman wins lottery, buys gift cards for strangers: After winning the lottery, Crystal Dunn went to a store and purchased $2,000 in gift cards. She then walked around the store and handed out gift cards to random strangers.
Crystal Dunn (Credit: Kentucky Lottery)
7. Video: Chicken takes ride on boogie board over West Virginia floodwaters: A chicken was caught on camera taking a brief journey on a boogie board after residential areas of Tornado, West Virginia, were flooded after a storm.
Jonathan Koerber via Storyful
8. Only son donates kidney to mother: ‘It’s amazing to give life in a different way’: The 25-year-old couldn’t imagine going through life without his mother. So he did what he could to help her live longer.
Quinten Hogan and Tawanna Davis. (Credit: Quinten Hogan)
9. Friends of 35 years keep promise, split $361,527 lottery prize: A long time ago, Scott Edwards made a pact with his friend Perry Charles that they would split any big lottery wins with each other. Charles kept his word when he won a $361,527 Fast Play jackpot Tuesday in North Carolina.
Scott Edwards and Perry Charles. (Credit: NC Education Lottery)
10. Watch: Endless sea of crickets overrun Idaho highway: The blanket of bugs not only creates slick spots on highways but they also can devour crops in the area.
FILE - Freeze frame from video showing tractor clearing the roadway of a seemingly endless sea of Mormon crickets. (Idaho Transportation Department via Storyful)
