A trail of $500 tips, and more

A trail of $500 tips

When Aaron Collins of Lexington, Ky., died suddenly last year at the age of 30, he left his family instructions in his will to leave an “awesome tip” for an unsuspecting server. “I mean $500 on a f---ing pizza for a waiter or waitress,” he wrote. His family did as Aaron had requested—but his brother, Seth, didn’t want to stop at just one tip. Seth has now given out $500 tips to waiters and waitresses in 17 states, and the family has raised over $60,000 to do it in all 50. “I’ll keep giving whatever money we have,” said Seth.

Two happy couples

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When Claire Johnson, 50, took her seeing-eye dog, Venice, to training classes in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the canine helper quickly became friends with fellow student Rodd, owned by 52-year-old Mark Gaffey. As the two dogs became inseparable pals, their sight-impaired owners struck up a friendship that soon turned into romance. Now, after an 11-month courtship, Johnson and Gaffey are to marry, with Venice and Rodd leading them to the altar. “They are as much a couple as me and Mark,” said Johnson. “They will be walking us down the aisle and be ring bearers. This wedding is down to them.”

Teaching English with celebrity tweets

A Brazilian school is teaching kids proper English by asking them to correct erroneously worded tweets by their favorite celebrities. The school asks its preteen students to point out grammar and spelling errors to the likes of Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, and Charlie Sheen. In April, Bieber tweeted, “That was a long bus ride. But we here.” Maria, 9, replied, “Watch out. It’s we’re here, not we here.” When Sheen misspelled “brain” in February, Rafael replied, “Man, use your brain, not your ‘brane.’” The teachers hope one of the celebs will write back—using proper grammar.