The History of Mermen and Mermaids
From Nation, For Nation - Pulse of the Nation
The Incredible Story of Robert Earl Hughes
Ramping It Up With Justin Bishop
Meet professional skateboarder Justin Bishop!
Justin was eight when he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease that came with a warning that he would go blind in middle age.
Back on the Board
Undeterred, he picked up skateboarding at the age of 10. But by the time he turned 25, he could only see shadows and blurs. After a four-year break from skating to remaster all of his essential life skills, he was finally ready to get back on the board.
Skateboarding while blind requires some creativity. Typically, Justin uses his cane to feel the environment around him-the curve of a bowl he’s dropped into, the end of a rail he’s grinding.
Amazing Invention
In 2019, he partnered with Zappos and Not Impossible Labs to develop a sound-based technology that uses speakers to create audio markers visually impaired skaters can use to navigate a skatepark.
Now in his mid-thirties, Justin is a professional skater with sponsors, has starred in commercials and documentaries, and advocates for the inclusion of visually impaired skateboarding in the Paralympics.
Adaptive Trick of the Year
Check out our behind the scenes video of Justin Bishop working out the trick that won him Adaptive Trick of the Year for Street League Skateboarding.
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From Globe, For Globe - Pulse of the Planet
Few artifacts spark as much speculation as this unassuming wooden fence. Now on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando's True Crime Gallery, this section of fence was once part of the now infamous “Grassy Knoll” at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, the site of one of the most speculated-about events in American history.
Skeptical Viewers
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade through Dallas. Official reports named Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman, firing from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. But within hours of the tragedy, a different story began to take shape. Witnesses claimed they saw smoke, movement, or even a mysterious man in uniform behind the fence on a small hill along the motorcade route, what the world now knows as the Grassy Knoll.
Mysterious Conspiracies
Over the decades, that fence has become a lightning rod for conspiracy theories. Some believe there was a second shooter. Others argue the fence’s placement created an acoustic illusion. In 1979, a congressional investigation even concluded that Kennedy was likely killed as the result of a conspiracy, though no second gunman was ever proven.
Today, this weathered wooden fence stands as a tangible piece of one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries, a silent witness to a moment that changed history forever.
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