|
62 years ago today, an American won the Olympic 10,000 meters. He is still the only one.
October 14, 1964: Billy Mills, a Marine lieutenant, ran the 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. That is 25 laps. The favorite was Ron Clarke of Australia, who held the world record. Mills’ qualifying time was almost a minute slower than Clarke’s. He passed Clarke and Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia in the final stretch. His winning time was an Olympic record, 28 minutes and 24 seconds.
Also today: Same date, 1957: “Wake Up Little Susie” by the Everly Brothers hit number one. The song is about two teens who fall asleep at a movie and wake up worried about their reputations. Some radio stations refused to play it.
|
|
7,500 Strangers Sent a Movie Theater Cleaner, 85, $146,000 in 48 Hours
Mary, 85, cleans the AMC movie theater in Maryville, Tennessee. The town is near Knoxville. Her manager says she has worked in theaters for 45 years. This June, a customer named Brooklyn Green, 21, was leaving a movie with her grandparents. She saw Mary pushing a cleaning cart.
Green filmed her, posted the video on TikTok and started a GoFundMe page. It raised over $100,000 in less than a day. In about 48 hours, more than 7,500 donors had given $146,000. Mary heard the news from a neighbor in the middle of the night.
Her reply was short: “Oh my goodness gracious! That’s a lot of money.” Mary has not decided whether or when to retire. She plans to use some of the money to keep helping families in need, the TV station Local 12 reported.
Keep smiling,
The Distraction Desk
|
