(Photos: Alan Chaniewski/Peter Getz)

In 1998, a fire broke out in a house in Hartford, Connecticut. Inside was 5-year old Josibelk Aponte. Officer Peter Getz, a now-retired police detective, responded to the scene. A firefighter put the little girl in Getz's arms.

Her heart had stopped.

Getz carried her away from the building and put her in the back of his patrol car. While his partner rushed them to the hospital, Officer Getz performed CPR on Josibelk.

The little girl survived and thrived. She just graduated from college and Getz was there to see her walk. The Hartford Courant reports:

About two years ago, Aponte contacted him out of the blue through Facebook.

"Every once in a while I get nostalgic and I want to know what happened," Aponte said. "So I did what everyone does: I Googled my name."

Her research turned up an article that identified Getz, and through some "Facebook stalking," she found him.

The two get together regularly, sometimes meeting for lunch. They talk about Getz's kids, his dog, how Aponte is doing in school.

Now, with a degree in accounting and a job at Walston & Ignagni in South Windsor, the conversations have turned to her plans for the future.

"To see the outcome, to see how successful she's been, makes my heart beat faster," Getz said.

-via Ace of Spades HQ

The sand glows brown on the desert tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
An empire of isolation,
And it looks like I'm the queen.

Rey from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is ready to let it go, right after she beats a few First Order troopers into submission. Redditor darthassbutt made this amazing costume for her daughter. It mashes up Rey from Star Wars with Elsa from Frozen.

You can see more photos of her at Wizard World Comic Con here, including one showing a lightsaber duel that she had with Anna.

-via Amy Ratcliffe

You know what's awesome? Sitting. And the older I get, the more I appreciate a good sit. If there's anything better than a good sit, it's a good lie down, but those are few and far between.

Infants and toddlers have it easy when it comes to getting a good sit. They get to be pushed around in strollers. Do we grown-ups? No--until now.

Coutours, a producer of babycare products, thinks that the ergonomics of the stroller experience are speculative for parents because they're not actually sitting in a stroller getting pushed around. So the company produced a duplicate of one of its strollers, scaled up to accomodate a full-sized adult.

(Video Link)

-via David Burge

(Image: We Believers)

People throw away 6-pack rings. Then they get tangled around the bodies of turtles, fish, birds, and other animals. They can maim or strangle those helpless creatures.

The Saltwater Brewery of Delray Beach, Florida was founded by and for surfers, fishermen, and other people who love the sea. They wanted to make sure that their 6-packs of beer help rather than hurt marine life. So they worked with the ad agency We Believers to develop a 6-pack ring that is edible.

The 3d printed 6-pack rings are made of byproducts of the brewing process, including wheat and barley, that are biodegradable and edible by marine life. And if no one nibbles at it, it simply dissolves, freeing any creature trapped inside. Discover magazine reports:

The company 3-D printed a test batch of 500 holders in April, according to AdvertisingAge, and it plans to scale up production to meet its current output of 400,000 cans of beer a month. While the edible holders are more expensive to make, Saltwater Brewery wants set an example for other beer producers and encourage them to adopt the idea. They say if their edible holders become commonplace, they could potentially be as cheap as the regular plastic rings.

-via Telegraph

It was a very impressive grind--flawless, really. The landing and flip were also spot-on. But it was still a close call for this skater who didn't post a lookout before riding into the street.

-via Gifsboom

Last year, Studio Job (warning: auto-sound) in Belgium produced a series of lamps shaped like peeled bananas. Five of the models lie in various reposed positions and the sixth is a hanging pendant. The gold-plated peels reflect the LED-generated light from the fruit itself.

The project was inspired by pop art of the 60s, especially that of Andy Warhol. Dezeen quotes the Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery:

"Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world... a nice reference to the other icons of the Pop Art, the Marilyns, the Campbell's Soups, the Dollars signs, Coca-Cola... distilling the beauty out of the popular is an art form itself," said a statement from the gallery, which also cited former artist-in-residence Keith Haring as a reference for the exhibition.

-via Fubiz

Your cat may show you affection by licking you. But some cat owners are uncomfortable licking their cats in response. Don't ask me why, but it's true.

Now those poor souls have a solution: the Licki Brush. It's a long, plastic, tongue-like object that fits inside your mouth. You use your head to brush it across your cat or the person sitting next to you on the bus. The soft bristles on the tongue groom and soothe the recipient of the licks. You can see a video demonstration here.

-via Geekologie

(Video Link)

As he got older, Wolverine found it harder and harder to deploy his claws when he was in the mood for some action. That's why he started taking Xialis for his adamantium dysfunction. Now his metal claws spring to readiness when he needs to demonstrate his vigor. Some mutants might feel too embarrassed to take pharmaceutical help, but Wolverine knows that there's nothing wrong with seeking a little boost.

Nerd City presents this parody of commercials for Cialis, an erectile dysfunction medication.

-via Laughing Squid

In one minute, Ashrita Furman of Queens, New York extinguished 47 lit blowtorches using only his tongue. You can see a video of his record-breaking achievement here.

How do you discover that you have this talent? For Furman, it's essential to look for new challenges because he also holds the Guinness World Record for the most Guinness World Records. That's why he calls himself Mr. Versatility. Since 1979, he has set more than 500 World Records and currently holds more than 200, including the fastest mile jumping on a pogo stick and the most electric fan blades stopped with the tongue.

(Photo: Shawnc)

Emperor Akihito, like his father before him, is a scientist with a passion for studying marine life. Although he was never able to pursue a doctorate in the field, Akihito has continued his studies and research throughout his life.

He's published extensively in ichthyology and genetics. Akihito's most recent article is titled "Speciation of two gobioid species, Pterogobius elapoides and Pterogobius zonoleucus revealed by multi-locus nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses." You can read an abstract here.

-via Brian Ashcraft

(Photo: unknown)

At Fashionably Geek, Geek Girl Diva writes, "I have no idea who this Batman baby belongs to." He belongs to Thomas and Martha Wayne, but that's not commonly known. Now young Bruce is getting an early start on avenging the murder of his parents. He's armored for war, just in case he has to deal with heavy interference from Metropolis.

Cosplay photographer David Ngo snapped this picture of a great R2-D2 cosplayer at C2E2--the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Far from being limited to wheels, R2 is now ready to perform an invigorating can-can dance.

(Video Link)

Master pianist Tony Ann remixes popular tunes in innovative variations for the piano. He usually does hit songs, such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Pillow Talk." But for his most recent piece, Ann wove a lively composition around famous ringtones that you've heard beeping from phones.

-via Blame It on the Voices

So cute!

Tracy Lega's horse Donato stared at the tiny human in the stable. Then he decided to play babysitter. He gently rocked the boy's car seat back and forth, entertaining both himself and the baby.

(Video Link)

-via Tastefully Offensive

It's called Preset Chess. There's no need to set up the pieces, probably dropping a few in the process. The magnetic pieces go into little compartments in their starting positions. So by opening the box, the pieces are already set up on the board. You're ready to play within seconds.

When you're done, just put the pieces back into their starting position compartments and you'll be ready to play another game later.

-via Gizmodo