Lifestyle Facts

There's a cruise ship named "The World" where residents permanently live as it travels around the globe.

Ronald Read worked as a gas station attendant and then a janitor in Brattleboro, Vermont. He held his coat together with safety pins. Someone once offered to pay for his meal, assuming he couldn't afford it. He died at 92 with nearly $8 million - from decades of quietly buying stocks. He left $4.8 million to the local hospital.

After 40+ years in New York, Willem Dafoe now lives on a small farm outside Rome where he raises 14 alpacas. He bottle-feeds the ones rejected by their mothers and names every single one. The Green Goblin's favourite alpaca is called Hermes.

Developers offered 84-year-old Edith Macefield one million dollars for the tiny Seattle house she bought for $3,750 in 1952. She said no. They built a five-story mall around it. During construction, the site superintendent started bringing her groceries and driving her to appointments. They became friends. When she died, she left the house to him.

A 13-year-old Boy Scout got lost near Yellowstone. He spent 18 hours alone in rain and sleet. When a helicopter appeared, he used his belt buckle to flash sunlight at the pilot. The pilot was Harrison Ford. He'd volunteered for the search. Ford landed and said: "Boy, you sure must have earned a merit badge for this one." The kid: "I already earned this badge last summer."

Dale Schroeder worked as a carpenter at the same Iowa company for 67 years. He never married. He drove a rusty old Chevrolet. When he died in 2005, nobody could believe he had secretly saved $3 million. He left it all to send 33 complete strangers to college. They call themselves "Dale's kids."