Scottish actor Peter Capaldi (pictured) and sent to Thomas Goodall, an
autistic nine-year-old who was grieving over the death of his
grandmother. Thomas's father Ross posted the video to YouTube on 6
November 2014 so that his whole family could see it, but the video had
wide appeal, and was viewed more than 200,000 times over the next 48
hours. Less than a week later it had over 900,000 views. In the video
Capaldi portrays his character, the Twelfth Doctor, from the BBC
science-fiction series Doctor Who. His message had a positive effect on
Thomas; the father said the boy smiled for the first time since learning
of his grandmother's death, and gained the courage to go to her funeral.
The video was praised as a deeply affecting piece in The Guardian, The
Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Hollywood Life, and various Spanish
and Dutch publications, and by CNN and MTV News. It also had a positive
impact on many viewers who suffered from autism and other mental health
problems.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_The_Doctor_to_my_son_Thomas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1665:
The London Gazette, the oldest surviving English-language
newspaper, was first published as the Oxford Gazette.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_London_Gazette>
1885:
Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first
transcontinental railroad across Canada, concluded with the driving of
the "last spike" in Craigellachie, British Columbia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Spike_(Canadian_Pacific_Railway)>
1916:
In the Congressional election, Jeannette Rankin became the
first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin>
1941:
World War II: German aircraft sank the Soviet hospital ship
Armenia while she was evacuating civilians and wounded soldiers from
Crimea, killing an estimated 5,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_hospital_ship_Armenia>
1991:
Professional basketball player Magic Johnson announced his
retirement from the game because of his infection with HIV.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vitriolic:
1. (chemistry) Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from or resembling
vitriol; vitriolous.
2. (figuratively) Bitterly scathing, caustic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vitriolic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Humanity needs practical men, who get the most out of their work,
and, without forgetting the general good, safeguard their own interests.
But humanity also needs dreamers, for whom the disinterested development
of an enterprise is so captivating that it becomes impossible for them
to devote their care to their own material profit.
--Marie Curie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marie_Curie>
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