Not a good job for the depressed, or the weak of bladder ...

The real story: Construction of the American airship, USS Macon, which was christened in 1933,  but sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean just two years later. 

  I've long envied people in the horse world who get a chance to drop this word into normal conversation once in a while. 

Pronunciation: with-erz
Meaning: 
          noun 1.  the highest part of a horse’s back, lying at the base of the neck above the shoulders. The height of a horse is   
                             measured to the withers.
Etymology: 16th century, from Old English dialectical wiðer (“against”) because it is the part of the horse that pushes against a load. 

 The writing process takes time and concentration. There is no quick-fix for the thousands of hours it takes to write a novel. You must sit at your computer and think of great things to write. You must do this until you have a complete story. Depending on your brilliance and how much time you have every day to write, this could take one month, three years, a decade or two. It will always seem like a lifetime.  
  And then, as reward for all your time and effort, you must spend many more hours editing your good draft into a great work. 
The good news? Not every aspect of editing takes a lot of time and/or brain power. Here are five quick edits that you can complete in a few hours: 

This time, I have no idea what the real story is that led to this photograph. But I imagine swans do not make great travel companions. 

Pronunciation: mahr-ses-uhnt
Meaning:
     adjective  1.   (of a leaf or frond) withering but remaining attached to the stem.
Etymology: early 18th century: from Latin marcescent- 'beginning to wither'
Source: Oxford English Dictionary

This looks like a different planet:

The real story: Niccoló Bonfadini captured this and other amazing images of snow-covered trees in Finland's Lapland. Winter can be beautiful. 

Every time I read this word, my brain reads it like it is a three-syllable word rhyming with soap. It is so much more beautiful when it is pronounced properly. 

Pronunciation: kuh-lahy-uh-pee
Meaning:
    noun 1. an American keyboard instrument resembling an organ but with the notes produced by steam whistles,      
                      formerly used on showboats and in travelling fairs.
Etymology:  from Greek Kalliopē, literally 'having a beautiful voice'.
Source: Oxford Dictionary

If you're suspicious, this is the worst luck ever. My dad, on the other hand, wants a time machine, the exact address, and a crate of Tender Vittles.

The real story: an audition in Hollywood for the part of a black cat, circa 1961.

This is a deep thought kind of word, one that describes things as being neither here nor there, but in the process of going from here to there. It is used mainly in technical or medical writing, but I see no reason why we shouldn't start using it to describe all sorts of in-betweens. 

Pronunciation: lim'-uh-nl
Meaning: 
        adj.  1. occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.
Etymology: from Latin, limen/limin, meaning threshold.
Source: Oxford Dictionary

  I read a news story this morning that gave me the idea for this post. 
  Last Thursday, Jose Salvador Albarengo washed up on the shores of a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, and claimed to have been drifting at sea for the last sixteen months, surviving off fish and turtles and birds that he caught himself. Most people who have had interaction with Jose are quick to admit their skepticism of his story. Looking at a picture of Jose, he seems hardly affected physically by what would definitely mean starvation and death for most people. And yet, there have been other stories told that seemed too unlikely to be the truth, but they were. Real life is sometimes incredible, in the literal sense of the word. Here are a few more true stories that will amaze you.