The moments that made the whole world feel good — the rescues, comebacks, and acts of kindness people still talk about. Vote the greatest to the top.
What counts: How widely it was felt, how many lives it touched, and how good it still feels to remember.
The Ice Bucket Challenge
2014: 17 million people dumped ice water on themselves and raised over $220 million for ALS research — money that later helped fund the discovery of new ALS genes.
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Captain Tom Moore's 100 Laps
2020: a 99-year-old WWII veteran walked 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday and raised £38.9 million for Britain's NHS during the pandemic's darkest spring.
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The Thai Cave Rescue
2018: twelve boys and their soccer coach were brought out alive after 18 days trapped in a flooded cave, saved by an improbable coalition of divers and volunteers from around the world.
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The Chilean Miners Rescue
2010: all 33 miners emerged alive after 69 days trapped 700 meters underground, one by one in a rescue capsule, as a billion people watched live.
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Miracle on the Hudson
2009: Captain Sully Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a bird strike killed both engines — all 155 aboard survived.
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1914: enemy soldiers climbed out of the trenches on Christmas, sang carols, traded gifts, and played football in No Man's Land — proof that peace can break out anywhere.
added by IJRThe Christmas Truce
Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope
1980: after losing a leg to cancer, 21-year-old Terry Fox ran a marathon a day across Canada; his run has since raised more than $850 million for cancer research.
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Dolly Parton Helps Fund a Covid Vaccine
2020: Dolly's $1 million gift to Vanderbilt helped fund the early research behind Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine — then she got the shot on camera singing 'vaccine, vaccine' to Jolene.
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Damar Hamlin's Toy Drive Avalanche
2023: after the Bills safety collapsed on the field, fans flooded his old $2,500 community toy-drive fundraiser with nearly $9 million in get-well donations.
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Batkid Saves San Francisco
2013: Make-A-Wish turned San Francisco into Gotham City for five-year-old leukemia survivor Miles Scott, with thousands of strangers cheering their caped hero through the streets.
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Smallpox Is Eradicated
1980: after a global vaccination campaign, the WHO declared smallpox gone — still the only human disease humanity has ever wiped from the face of the Earth.
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The Bald Eagle Comes Back
From 417 breeding pairs in 1963 to delisting in 2007 and hundreds of thousands today — America's bird flew back from the brink of extinction.
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The Humpback Whale Recovery
Hunted down to a few hundred, Australia's humpback whales rebounded to more than 40,000 and came off the threatened list in 2022 — one of conservation's greatest comebacks.
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The Ocean Cleanup
A teenager's science-fair idea grew into Boyan Slat's fleet of systems now hauling millions of kilograms of plastic out of the Pacific garbage patch and the world's rivers.
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Guinea Worm Nears Eradication
From 3.5 million cases in 1986 to a handful a year today — Jimmy Carter's decades-long campaign is on the verge of eradicating a parasite without a single drug or vaccine.
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The WestJet Christmas Miracle
2013: an airline asked boarding passengers what they wanted for Christmas — then had the gifts wrapped and waiting at the baggage carousel when they landed.
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