171: blind man breaks sound barrier

A great story to end the week. Today's linked article is from the UK regional newspaper The Yorkshire Post, and it reports the latest daring adventure by blind fundraiser and motivational speaker Miles Hilton-Barber - who today became the first blind man to break the sound barrier. He did so by flying a fighter jet at speeds of up to 1,100 mph, reaching 50,000 ft in less than two minutes! Hilton-Barber and his sighted co-pilot set the record in the skies above Cape Town, South Africa, in a bid to raise £50,000 (about $100,000) for the charity Seeing is Believing, which was established by Standard Chartered bank in 2003 with the aim of restoring sight to blind people across the developing world. Hilton-Barber's support for the charity is long-standing, as is his adventurous spirit - some of his other extreme pursuits include flying microlight from the UK to Australia, bobsleighing solo down an Olympic track, scaling the Himalayas, and running several marathons in harsh conditions. Pretty inspiring stuff!