Good intentions spelled out, and more
A Tennessee man proposed to his girlfriend by spelling out his intentions on a grand scale last week.
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Good intentions spelled out
A Tennessee man proposed to his girlfriend by spelling out his intentions on a grand scale last week. Clifton Smith used white bed sheets to write “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” in 15-foot letters in a field behind Rachel Weakley’s family farm, and enlisted his future father-in-law to mow a heart shape around it. Smith then convinced Weakley to take a plane ride with him as “research” for a sustainability project—only to pull out an engagement ring when she spotted his romantic message. “She fell for it hook, line, and sinker,” he said.
In Denmark, a marathon a day
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A marathon a day keeps the doctor away, one Danish woman has found. Annette Fredskov, of Naestved, Denmark, ran 26.2 miles every day for a year, despite having multiple sclerosis. She marked the anniversary of her daily feat with a double marathon two weeks ago, running over 52 miles in just over 10 hours. Since July 2012, she has run almost 10,000 miles and worn through 20 pairs of running shoes. Fredskov says her long-distance running has helped keep the symptoms of her disease at bay. “Marathons are the best thing that have happened for my body and soul,” she said.
A football coach's gift
When Grant Reed was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011, the 12-year-old Ohio State supporter nicknamed his cancer after the team every Buckeye fan longs to beat—Michigan. Soon after Reed finished chemotherapy last month, he got a telephone call from University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke. He wanted Reed to know there were no hard feelings about the nickname, and offered his family four tickets to this fall’s Ohio State–Michigan game. “It’s getting hard to keep my dislike for them,” said Reed’s father, Troy, “because they’ve been so classy and unbelievable to us.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Today's political cartoons — September 30, 2023
Saturday's cartoons - Trump's poll numbers, the Hunter Biden investigation, and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 30, 2023
Daily Briefing Government shutdown looms after failed House vote, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein dies at 90, and more
By Justin Klawans Published
-
All about Zealandia, the Earth’s potential 8th continent
The Explainer The secret continent went undiscovered for over 300 years
By Devika Rao Published