Recently an online forum member asked, “Who is actually the best human being of all time?” Here are their top-voted responses. Do you agree?
1. The Heroes of Chernobyl
Mechanical engineers Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bezpalov, and Boris Baranov at the Chernobyl plant maneuvered a series of underground tunnels beneath the fourth reactor in order to open a set of release valves in order to drain the chest-high water that had flooded the hallways.
The chest-high water was a result of fire fighting and coolant water from the days prior. Due to the crew members’ extensive knowledge of the structure, they were able to circumnavigate the reactor relatively quickly and, in doing so, avoid Acute Radiation Syndrome.
2. John Salk and the First Polio Vaccine
At the time, the Polio outbreak was affecting ten to twenty million children per year. So when virologist and medical researcher John Salk offered the vaccine to the public free of charge, it was a game changer. He came on national TV and just gave it away for free. Many respondents recall seeing or knowing someone affected by the disease. While many more recalled the ones that were permanently affected and those who died as a result of the Polio outbreak.
3. Fred Rogers
“As I tapped on this thread, the only person that came to mind was Mr Rogers! I remember his own son saying something about how Fred was genuinely as pure and angelic as he appeared in the media.” One friendly neighbor joked, “I think he made a comment about it wasn’t always easy being the son of the second Messiah.”
4. Stanislav Petrov and the Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident
In 1983 Petrov is a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, and he played a pivotal role in the events that took place on September 1, 1983. He disobeyed a direct order after he recognized an error in the Soviet missile alert system. Their systems were reporting five American missiles that were not there. Had he obeyed his orders, the world would most definitely be a different place due to mutually assured destruction.
5. James Harrison
Dubbed the Man with the Golden Arm, this Australian native has a rare blood type that contains an unusually strong level of anit-b antibodies. For all those not so science-inclined out there, his plasma essentially contained a cure for the pregnancy disease where the mother’s antibodies attack her baby’s blood cells.
This can lead to anemia and jaundice. James Harrison made over 1700 donations spanning over 60 years and only ceased to donate due to a medical recommendation, not the fact that he was over the donation age limit. The man is a true savior.
6. Warrick Dunn
A Florida State University alum lost his mother at the age of 18. His mother was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. The loss of his mother forced him to step up and be the man of the house for his younger siblings, all while being a full-fledged college athlete.
Once drafted into the NFL in 1997, he immediately created Warrick Dunn Charities and has helped with down payments and the full furnishing of single-family homes, as well as scholarships and other academic endeavors. On top of all of that, he even met and forgave his mother’s killer.
7. Dolly Parton
One person details a story of how their grandmother made really cool 3D paintings with everyday mediums like twigs, leaves, and stuff like that. Their grandma stated that Dolly purchased one of her paintings and loved it so much that her Dolly-ness commissioned a few more.
But the grandchild was wary of their grandma’s stories until her passing when the family received a heartfelt letter expressing how sad Dolly was to lose such a great friend.
8. Nicholas Winton
Nicholas Winton was a British stockbroker and humanitarian who unnecessarily risked his freedom and his life in a time when lots of people would choose to save themselves. He risked his life to save over 600 Jewish children who were in danger in Czechoslovakia in the coming times of World War II.
9. Marcus Aurelius
Aurelius was named one of the Five Good Emporers, and it was no accident that he was. Niccolò Machiavelli coined the phrase and went on to elaborate that for a great period of time, all of the emperors who ascended the throne by birth were not good people and, in turn, not great rulers.
He went on to state all of the adopted rulers who have taken the role of emperor were of good heart and mind. And the internet is still in agreeance with Machiavelli to this day.
10. Frederick Banting
A ton of diabetic forum members determined that the discoverer of insulin deserved a spot on this list, and they are absolutely correct. Though insulin is something that the body creates naturally, Banting’s discovery helped shed light on a giant health complication that, at the time, was almost a guaranteed two-year death sentence. Hats off to you, Mr. Banting.
11. Steve Irwin
The Crocodile Hunter is the epitome of the greatest human being. This man chased down snakes and tarantulas and wrestled with Crocs. His life mission was the conservation of wildlife of all forms. As well as bringing sharing his knowledge and love of living creatures with the rest of the living world. Steve Irwin was indeed a great human being.
12. Pauli Murray
She was the only woman and the first in her class at Howard University Law School. Born in Baltimore, Md, to poor sharecroppers living in the shadow of the Klu Klux Klan, she didn’t let her circumstances hinder her. Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray went on to become a civil rights activist. She also helped to found the Congress of Racial Equality and the National Organization for Women.
Later in life, she originated women’s studies and African American studies. In 2012, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church named her one of the Holy Women, Holy Men, and deemed her death date a feast day on the Episcopal Church’s “Calendar of Saints.”
13. Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon is credited as one of the major contributors to not only natural philosophy but the scientific method. All my science buffs out there know how fundamental the scientific method is to, well, EVERYTHING! Big shout out to the creator of the scientific method and all of the facets that have been affected.
14. Carl Sagan
He is a renowned astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, and astrophysicist, among other things. Carl Sagan is a gift to man for his scientific accomplishments in the field of extraterrestrial life, and he even comprised the first physical messages sent into space.
15. David Attenborough
Some went as far as to deem him the most important man on the planet, and others stated we need to save the planet for his sake alone. David Attenborough and that silky smooth voice of his have brought so much information to light for us to use to change the world, but it seems like the world is blatantly ignoring his warnings.
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Source: Reddit.