Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer (unofficial because summer doesn't actually start until June 21), and we couldn't think of a better way to kick off the lazy days of summer than with "Snippets and Soundbites"!

Admit it: you're excited!

And if today's edition of "Snippets and Soundbites" isn't enough randomness for you, please check out page 38 in this month's (and every month's) issue of ec.

Let's get the show on the road. Ready?

Lost and Found

It took awhile, but Robert Bell has his wallet back. The kicker? Bell lost the wallet back in 1941 and he just got it back this week. Bell, a World War II veteran, lost the wallet in 1941 when he was attending a Navy vocational school in Chicago. The wallet contained Bell's Social Security card and pictures of him and his soon-to-be wife, and he'd long since given up on it ever being returned to him. An electrician actually found the wallet in the 1960s in a crawl space at the school. He'd tried unsuccessfully to locate the owner and didn't have much luck until last year when an American Legion Post and a congressman got involved. With the help of the Social Security Administration, they tracked down Bell, who now lives in Utah. He was excited about the wallet's return and can't wait to show his son the pictures it contains. To learn more, go here.

A wild ride

A Tennessee Waffle House employee has a lot to be thankful for this week—namely that he has no serious injuries and is alive to tell his story after clinging to the hood of a moving car. Andrew Brian McKnight ended up in that dangerous position after three teens left the Waffle House where he works without paying. McKnight says he wasn't trying to be a hero or necessarily even stop the thieves; he just clung to the hood when the driver tried to run over him during the escape. So with McKnight clinging to the hood, the driver sped off—a local newspaper even reported that the car reached speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Amazingly, McKnight managed to call 911 on his phone while clinging to the car's hood as it sped down the road. The driver did stop the car shortly before the police arrived and was arrested. To read more about it, go here.

It's not rocket science. Or maybe it is. 

Remember those guys who made all the videos with the Diet Coke and Mentos? If you don't, check them out here. Well, it turns out those guys weren't just making a mess or playing around. They've found a way to put their discovery to use and created a vehicle that's propelled by—wait for it—Coke Zero and Mentos. In a video posted online this week, the vehicle traveled more than 220 feet. Read all about it here.