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Bill Walton Lost His Beloved Bike, But Twitter Came To The Rescue

Bill was grateful for the help in reuniting him with “the most important thing I have.”

 Penn Collins
11.15.16

It’s no secret that former NBA star and TV personality Bill Walton wears his passions on his sleeve. He loves the Grateful Dead. He loves basketball. And he loves, loves, loves cycling. Having undergone over 40 surgeries for back and feet issues, he has found an outlet in cycling, calling it in a WSJ interview “the most important thing I have. It is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one.”

You could imagine how he would feel if his bike was lost. And at 7 feet tall, his bike is a custom affair that can’t be replaced without great time and expense.

Over the weekend, Walton was put through the wringer as his bike was lost luggage on a trip via Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to Maui.

He was apoplectic, reaching out via social media with this tweet, which also shows just how big his big bike is:

He was flying to Hawaii for a vacation, the high point of which was a cycle tour of the majestic volcanos. So lacking a bike would put a pretty serious damper on his trip.

It turns out that by venting on Twitter, the likeable celebrity managed to put a fair amount of pressure on the airline to find his missing bike, both from sympathetic Twitter users and from media outlets that had picked up the story. Not wanting to be the guys that lost Bill Walton’s prized bike, Hawaiian Airlines, bombarded with messages, went to work.

Walton was also tweeting non-stop to his followers expressing his pain and frustration. This went beyond rage. Bill NEEDS that bike in his life.

Oh, and he deviated from his mission for one tweet to discuss his lovely pit bull in the pic:

Fortunately, the tweeting and faith paid off, with the bike coming back to its rightful owner:

And Bill was gracious enough to give props to the hundreds (possibly thousands) of folks who pinged Hawaiian Airlines on his behalf:

Here’s to hoping that Bill has a great trip riding through Hawaii and maybe considers shipping his bike back home given his recent experience.

Sports

A Kenyan inventor's niece was born deaf so he made a glove that turns sign language into speech

via Honor Africans / Twitter

The problem with American Sign Language (ASL) is that over 500,000 people in the U.S. use it, but the country has over 330 million people.

So for those with hearing loss, the chances of coming into contact with someone who uses the language are rare. Especially outside of the deaf community.

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Bill Gates explaining the internet to a smug David Letterman in 1995 is hilarious in hindsight

Looking back, the year 1995 seems like such an innocent time. America was in the midst of its longest streak of peace and prosperity. September 11, 2001 was six years away, and the internet didn't seem like much more than a passing fad.

Twenty-four years ago, 18 million U.S. homes had modem-equipped computers, 7 million more than the year before. Most logged in through America Online where they got their email or communicated with random strangers in chat rooms.

According to a Pew Research study that year, only 32% of those who go online say they would miss it "a lot" if no longer available.

Imagine what those poll numbers would look like if the question was asked today.

RELATED: Bill and Melinda Gates had a surprising answer when asked about a 70 percent tax on the wealthiest Americans

"Few see online activities as essential to them, and no single online feature, with the exception of E-Mail, is used with any regularity," the Pew article said. "Consumers have yet to begin purchasing goods and services online, and there is little indication that online news features are changing traditional news consumption patterns."

"Late Night" host David Letterman had Microsoft founder and, at that time the richest man in the world, on his show for an interview in '95 to discuss the "the big new thing."

During the interview Letterman chided Gates about the usefulness of the new technology, comparing it to radio and tape recorders.

Gates seems excited by the internet because it will soon allow people to listen to a baseball game on their computer. To which Letterman smugly replies, "Does radio ring a bell?" to laughter from the crowd.

But Gates presses Letterman saying that the new technology allows you to listen to the game "whenever you want," to which Letterman responds, "Do tape recorders ring a bell?"

Gates then tells Letterman he can keep up with the latest in his favorite hobbies such as cigar smoking or race cars through the internet. Letterman shuts him down saying that he reads about his interests in magazines.

RELATED: Bill Gates has five books he thinks you should read this summer.

The discussion ends with the two laughing over meeting like-minded people in "troubled loner chat room on the internet."

The clip brings to mind a 1994 segment on "The Today Show" where host Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric have a similar discussion.

"What is internet anyway?" an exasperated Gumball asks. "What do you write to it like mail?"

"It's a computer billboard but it's nationwide and it's several universities all joined together and it's getting bigger and bigger all the time," a producer explains from off-stage.





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Culture

We're finally starting to take climate change seriously, survey finds

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

The future generations will have to live on this Earth for years to come, and, not surprisingly, they're very concerned about the fate of our planet. We've seen a rise in youth activists, such as Greta Thunberg, who are raising awareness for climate change. A recent survey indicates that those efforts are working, as more and more Americans (especially young Americans) feel concerned about climate change.

A new CBS News poll found that 70% of Americans between 18 and 29 feel climate change is a crisis or a serious problem, while 58% of Americans over the age of 65 share those beliefs. Additionally, younger generations are more likely to feel like it's their personal responsibility to address climate change, as well as think that transitioning to 100% renewable energy is viable. Overall, 25% of Americans feel that climate change is a "crisis," and 35% feel it is a "serious problem." 10% of Americans said they think climate change is a minor problem, and 16% of Americans feel it is not a problem that worries them.

The poll found that concern for the environment isn't a partisan issue – or at least when it comes to younger generations. Two-thirds of Republicans under the age of 45 feel that addressing climate change is their duty, sentiments shared by only 38% of Republicans over the age of 45.

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The Planet