A marathon that almost cost the runner his life,
the most devastating flood in history, and the story of a woman
traveling the world to save orphans. Are these stories rooted from true events,
or just fantastical tales? It's time to test your ability to decipher between fact.. or fiction.
The line that divides the factual from the unreal has long since blurred,
the tales we once thought fantastical now implanted as truth. To decipher verity from
the imagined, you must break from the ordinary and consider a universe where the outlandish prevails.
Can you expand your mind to see beyond our perceived reality?
Can you decide what's fact or fiction?
Most marathon races are a true test of fitness and mental strength, but add the
blisteringly high temperatures and extra-long distance involved in the Marathon des Sables,
and you have yourself the toughest footrace on earth. For Sicilian policeman Luciu Perez,
it wasn’t the heat or the distance that nearly killed him though..
Story # 1: Lost in the Desert
Luciu had always enjoyed a challenge and was an enthusiastic marathon runner
for his entire adult life. Even though he’d successfully finished 18 all around the world,
he wasn’t satisfied, and he needed a bigger challenge. A colleague told him about the infamous
156-mile Marathon des Sables in south Morocco, and instantly he was determined to take part.
Little did he know that this determination would be the thing that would almost cost him his life.
Luciu traveled to Morocco the following year and was ready to take on the race of a lifetime.
For the first four days he kept up a great pace and worked his way into seventh place. But,
that’s where things began to unravel. On that fourth day a vicious sandstorm rolled
in and reduced visibility to almost nothing. The marathon rules state that runners must stay still
and await rescue during a sandstorm, but Luciu’s determination to win made him make a decision that
was almost fatal. He decided to keep running through the whirling sand and powerful winds.
With a scarf wrapped around his face, he ran for six hours until the storm finally died
down. It was then that he realized he was completely lost. He was so far off course,
in fact, that when he fired his flare gun nobody saw it but him.
Luciu was completely alone in one of the least hospitable places on earth and he knew that he had
no choice but to keep on walking, so that’s what he did. He ate lizards and scorpions and drank
the dew from leaves to stay alive, and eventually he came across a group of nomads five days later.
They told him that he was now in Algeria, 130 miles from where he was supposed to be.
Luciu is proof that determination can either kill you, or save your life...
There are plenty of harrowing tales of desert survival,
but did Luciu really survive in the scorching heat of the Sahara on
just dew alone for five days? Let us know what you think by voting with the on-screen poll
and in the comment section below, as we get ready for our 2nd tale for tonight.
Next up is the story of one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the world, which is
said to have claimed up to four million lives. Story # 2: The Great Floods
Water is the source of life, but it also has the power to take. Millions of poor souls found that
to be true in 1874 when they experienced the true power of water in one of the
most devastating natural disasters of all time. It started out as a normal storm during the rainy
season. After a long dry season, people were happy about the rains: crops were watered and it was a
glorious respite from the blistering summertime temperatures. But then, the rains never stopped.
It poured down day and night for weeks, killing crops and causing huge issues with sanitation.
Homes and schools were washed away, and much of the country came to a standstill.
At its worst, the water levels were reported at 16 meters or 53 feet above normal levels,
and the floods covered an area the equivalent of the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
combined. It’s estimated that at least 6 million people lives were lost due to the flooding
and another 20 million affected. Thousands drowned as the waters rose, then a lack of food and basic
sanitation caused famine and disease. It took over a year for the water levels
to return to normal, and almost a decade for crops and infrastructure to recover
to their usual levels. And for the families affected, it took years to get back to a
life that was in any way considered normal. Many of us remember the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
that claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 - but is there a recorded disaster that claimed nearly
10 times that many people? Let us know what you think in the comment section below as we get ready
for our third and final tale for tonight. Adopting an orphan is noble act and
opening your home and heart to a child is a beautiful thing to do.
Some people take this one step further, though, as we're about to find out with Caroline Jones.
Story # 3: A Heart of Gold
Some people are simply born good. They have kind hearts, generous souls, and they’re committed to
sharing what they have with others. Caroline is one of those people, and she has never once
let her disability bring her down. In fact, she’s used it to bring good to other’s lives.
Caroline was born with PKU, a condition which can lead to seizures and developmental issues
if not treated properly. She’d always wanted to be a mother,
but when she and her husband Matt began talking about having children, they discovered that there
are many dangers associated with PKU that could affect both Caroline and her unborn offspring.
At first, Caroline was devastated, but she and Matt decided that adoption was a good option,
so they went ahead and began researching. When they came across two orphans in China with PKU,
they had a thought – why not adopt children with the same disability as
Caroline. She knows better than anyone on how to deal with the condition, and those
children were likely not to be adopted otherwise. The following year Caroline and Matt traveled to
China to get their adoptive children who were both curious and energetic two-year-olds at the time.
But, that wasn’t enough for Caroline. She wanted to give more PKU kids a home, so she and Matt
committed to expanding their family once again. They finally found 13-year-old Ben who also had
the condition. Once he turned 14 he would be classed as “unadoptable” in China and thrown
out onto the streets, so the Jones’ decided to bring him home with them, along with a fourth boy.
The family now lives happily together in Tuscon, Arizona, and all four boys
are thriving under Caroline and Matt’s care. Did one couple really fly all over the world
to rehome four children specifically diagnosed with PKU? Well, you're in luck, it's the moment
we've all been waiting for - the reveal. Are you ready to find out if you can
decipher between fact or fiction? Let’s look back at tonight's three stories
and find out which were born from reality and which were fabrications of the imagination.
Our first story sends us to the Sahara Desert and the story of Luciu’s near-death experience.
Did his determination really keep him alive against all odds? Yes, it certainly did.
Mauro Prosperi almost died attempting to complete the hardest marathon in the world.
The near-death experience also didn't phase Prosperi,
as he reapplied and successfully completed the marathon a few years later.
Next, we’re returning to India and the horrifying floods of 1874. Were so many lives lost to a
horrifying wall of water? Though our specific tale isn’t true, it’s loosely based on the
terrible floods of China in 1887 and 1931. An estimated 1 to 4 million lives were lost in 1931
Yangzi-Huai River floods and 1 to 2 million were lost in the 1887 Yellow River Flood.
Also, if you voted fact because you thought we were talking about the floods in China,
give yourself a point, since we do occasionally change details if they give the story away.
Finally, we’re back to our feel-good story of Caroline Jones. Did she really traverse
the world taking in orphaned children with the same genetic disease as her?
We’re glad to report that yes, she certainly did. Caroline, whose real name is Kristi, takes
her medicine alongside her adopted children each day and says that the children are doing great.
How well did you do in tonight's video? Did you look past the deception of our world and
define the oft-blurred line that struggles to separate lies from the truth? Let us all know
in the comment section below and should you find the urge to test your perceptions again,
be sure to subscribe and join us next time when we ask you to decide what's fact... or fiction.