America's oldest teacher, and more

America's oldest teacher

America’s oldest teacher turned 99 last week but has no plans to retire. Agnes Zhelesnik started teaching cooking and sewing at the Sundance School in North Plainfield, N.J., back when she was 81. Her daughter, Agnes, 69, teaches at the same school. The school’s children, who affectionately call Zhelesnik “Granny,” threw her a birthday party last week and presented her with a patchwork quilt they’d made. The children, she said, make it worth coming to work—even at her age. “They’re just something else,” she said.

Holly the Cat heads home

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A cat from West Palm Beach, Fla., has baffled scientists by making a 200-mile journey home on her own. Holly disappeared while on vacation in Daytona Beach with her owners, Jacob and Bonnie Richter. Two months later she turned up near the Richter home, seven pounds lighter and with bleeding paws. Scientists were at a loss to explain how Holly had managed to find her way back, let alone survive in the wild. “Maybe being street-smart, maybe reading animal cues, maybe being able to read cars, maybe being a good hunter,” said behavioral ecologist Marc Bekoff. “I have no data for this.”

Ace sportsmanship in Spain

A Spanish long-distance runner showed exemplary sportsmanship last month when he helped a confused rival finish before him. Iván Fernández Anaya was in second place to Olympic bronze medalist Abel Mutai in a race in Navarre, Spain, when he noticed the Kenyan runner stop about 30 feet from the finish line. Mutai thought he had completed the race—and couldn’t understand the crowd telling him to keep going in Spanish. Rather than speed past Mutai, Anaya guided him ahead to the actual finish. “I did what I had to do,” he said. “He was the rightful winner.”