10 Unusual Items Credited with Saving People from Danger & Death

When we think of someone being saved from a dangerous or life-threatening situation, we often think of either first responders or good Samaritans stepping in to save the day or a victim being able to use specialized training or a carefully placed weapon as a means of fleeing from danger.

But what happens when a person or animal finds themselves within the jaws of danger or death, and physical human intervention is not enough and can actually do more harm? What if there are no weapons or devices to assist, or the actual source of danger is lurking in the shadows? Believe it or not, sometimes the difference between life and death can lie within the reach of common everyday things—a hair clip, a potato chip bag, or even a diaper. In fact, those were just some of the items that became a saving grace for the people on this list.

Here are ten unusual things that have helped or been credited entirely with saving people (and animals) from danger and death.

Related: 10 Unbelievable Coincidences That Will Leave You Scratching Your Head

10 Hair Clip

Around 10:30 p.m. on June 30, 2024, 24-year-old Vanessa Chaput was jogging through a paved trail between Haines Junction and Pine Lake Campground in Yukon, Canada, with her German shepherd, Luna. However, as Chaput rounded a corner, she spotted trouble and quickly found herself face-to-face with three grizzly bears.

Having grown up in bear country, Chaput learned to have respect for the large mammals, so she attempted to give the bears some space by backing away, all while pulling Luna’s short leash with her. Luna, however, wasn’t ready to back down and, instead, went on the defense, breaking away from Chaput. While Luna chased the two smaller bears away, Chaput was unfortunately left alone with a male bear, who then charged at her.

Chaput stated that the bear took her down to the ground, but as it was biting her head, she believes something stunned the bear, causing it to let her go. So, what exactly was Chaput’s saving grace in this terrifying situation? It was simply a palm-sized, plastic hair clip from Walmart that she was wearing in her hair at the time. During the attack, the bear bit into Chaput’s hair clip, which “exploded” in its mouth.

Once Chaput was free, she hid behind a tree, but the bear charged once again. This time, Luna’s sudden barking from a distance distracted the bear, scaring it away for good. Bloodied and injured, Chaput slowly made her way to the Alaska Highway, where she was reunited with Luna, who was unharmed. Chaput then used her Apple Watch to call her husband, Dave Leegstra, and 911.

Chaput was hospitalized for 10 days and suffered from puncture wounds, nerve damage, and a broken arm. She received more than 30 stitches in her head, back, arm, and ear. While Chaput was incredibly grateful for Luna’s efforts, she also believes she would have died had it not been for the plastic hair clip that she was wearing.

Yukon Conservation Officer Services stated the nearby campground was evacuated, and that weekend, conservation officers euthanized three bears matching the description from Chaput’s attack.^[1]

9 Lip Fillers

In the beginning of 2023, 36-year-old Edita Jucaite, a dental nurse from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was thrilled to find out she was losing weight prior to her beach vacation. Although Jucaite had not changed her exercise routine, she had lost approximately 22 pounds (10 kg) within two or three months “without even trying.” Jucaite simply attributed her weight loss to her busy work schedule and social life, but little did she know that her slimming silhouette was hiding a serious health issue. Fortunately, her choice to undergo a cosmetic procedure would reveal the truth about her health and, ultimately, save her life.

In April 2023, Jucaite decided to get lip fillers and also had Botox injected into her eyebrows and forehead. Despite having similar procedures in the past without any side effects, something went terribly wrong. Immediately after the injections, Jucaite’s lip swelled, and by the next day, a large bruise had appeared outside her lip and on the inside of her mouth. The doctor who administered the injection then advised Jucaite to seek medical attention.

The swelling vanished after a few days, but after researching some of her symptoms online, Jucaite discovered leukemia was a potential cause. While Jucaite didn’t think that was a possibility, she ultimately decided to visit her primary doctor for testing. There, Jucaite had a blood test done, but within hours, she was told to go straight to the hospital. At Churchill Hospital in Oxford, Jucaite was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a slow-developing cancer of the bone marrow in which the immature cells called “blasts” overtake the healthy bone marrow.

Jucaite was treated with oral chemotherapy tablets until her blood count was stable. Jucaite is now in remission but will need to remain on the medication Imatnib, a cancer growth blocker, for the rest of her life to prevent the cancer from returning.^[2]

8 “Baby Shark” Stuffed Toy

If you are a parent with young children, you are probably familiar with the “Baby Shark” song that became a global phenomenon in 2016. While the tune is often loved by children yet loathed by adults, a plush product based on the popular song became the center of an unusual news headline in 2019. In fact, one toddler ultimately owes her life to a stuffed “Baby Shark.”

Around 8:42 p.m. on November 24, 2019, police officers responded to a call at a home in Madison, Wisconsin, after someone fired off dozens of rounds, hitting parked cars and multiple homes, prompting residents in the neighborhood to seek shelter. When investigators arrived at the scene, they collected approximately 45 shell casings around the block, which they believed had come from two rival groups firing at each other.

One bullet, however, went into a home on the 900 block of Vernon Avenue. As a three-year-old child was sleeping in her crib, a bullet ripped through the wall of the toddler’s bedroom and hit the plush toy, absorbing the stray bullet which just narrowly missed the toddler. Another bullet hole was discovered approximately one foot away from where the toddler laid her head. Fortunately, the little girl was spared, and no one else was injured during the incident.^[3]

7 Potato Chip Bag

Shortly before 10:25 p.m. on July 7, 2021, NYPD Police Officer Ronald Kennedy was one of several officers who responded to a reported stabbing in Harlem, New York. After arriving on the scene, Kennedy immediately approached the 29-year-old victim, who was sitting on a parkway tree border fence and bleeding profusely from the chest. Kennedy then began yelling for someone to “Go get a bag of potato chips right now.” And no, Kennedy was not attempting to take a snack break, nor was he joking about his demands for the salty snack, along with some tape. Instead, Kennedy was relying on a trick he learned during his time as an EMT.

Bystander Ricardo Gonzalez then ran into the store behind them, and upon returning with the bag of chips, Kennedy emptied the contents. With the help of two people nearby, Kennedy then laid the victim flat on the ground and used shipping tape to secure and seal the flattened potato chip bag over the chest wound.

You see, when a knife wound opens the chest, air not only enters the chest from the mouth and normal airway system into the lungs, but it also enters the chest outside the lung on the affected side, causing the lung to collapse. As pressure then increases outside the lung, the blood vessels connected to the heart are also compressed. Therefore, without a seal over the open chest wound, respiration and oxygenated blood become insufficient, which can eventually lead to shock and death. Thankfully, Kennedy’s use of the potato chip bag stopped the bleeding enough to keep the victim alive until an ambulance arrived, and the paramedics then quickly switched out the seal.

The unnamed victim was rushed to Harlem Hospital and was recovering, all thanks to Kennedy’s quick thinking and, ultimately, a potato chip bag. About an hour after the incident, Officer David Galindez caught the stabbing suspect and was also able to retrieve the knife used.^[4]

6 Linkin Park Song Lyrics

Healthcare worker Cristina Settanni of Orlando, Florida, rarely commutes on State Road 408. However, Settanni happened to be running late for work one morning in February 2019, and as she drove down the expressway, she noticed a lone man perched at the edge of a bridge, looking like he was about to jump. Settanni initially drove past the man, as did hundreds of other cars, but after noticing him again in her rearview mirror, Settanni decided to pull over. She got out of her car and approached the man.

Settanni then sat down on the ledge next to him and told him she was scared he would jump. In light of the tense situation, Settanni attempted to console the man, but rather than offering advice or even using her own words, she recited a lyric from the Linkin Park song “One More Light.” “Who cares if one more light goes out? Well, I do.” Settanni stated she “didn’t know if [the song] clicked with him, but he just cried.”

For those unfamiliar with the band or the song, Linkin Park’s “One More Light” was inspired by a friend of the band who had died of cancer. It was also their last single before their (Link 26) frontman Chester Bennington took his own life in 2017.

Soon after, Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Shaun Cayer arrived, responding to multiple 911 calls from people who saw the man on the ledge. Unfortunately, the man refused to step back, but as Settanni continued to talk to him, Cayer pulled him to safety. It was later discovered that bad decisions and family problems were what drove the man to feel as though suicide was his only option. The man was not arrested but was taken to a mental health facility under the Baker Act.^[5]

5 Diaper

An altercation between 33-year-old Catherine Copeland and her husband, 27-year-old Sandro Michel, began at a RaceTrac gas station in Pembroke Park, Florida. However, as the couple fought in the car, the argument escalated and became so volatile that it prompted concerned bystanders to call 911.

Copeland and Michel then drove off with their three-year-old daughter Sariyah inside the car. Witnesses stated that Copeland was driving, but Michel began tugging on the wheel, hitting Copeland, and putting his foot on the gas, which ultimately caused her to lose control of the car, crash into an embankment, and plunge into Lake Helen, which is 40 feet (12 meters) deep.

When deputies arrived on the scene around 12:30 a.m. on October 25, 2011, Copeland was on top of the car, screaming for help and attempting to alert officers that her daughter was still in the car. Deputy Cazi Navarro brought Copeland to shore, but then, he saw something unusual, stating, “All of a sudden, this little thing popped up like a cork.” It was Sariyah! Although she was lifeless in the water, her diaper had kept her afloat and ultimately saved her life. (

Sariyah was taken to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. She was listed in critical but stable condition and was expected to make a full recovery. Copeland was treated in the hospital and released.

It wasn’t until around 4 a.m. that a dive team was able to pull Michel’s body from the water. Michel, who was on probation for a domestic battery charge and was under a court order not to have any contact with Copeland, had drowned in the submerged car.^[6]

4 A Stranger’s Comment

Sarah Love and her husband Micah were visiting a SeaWorld theme park near their home in Lake Alfred, Florida, during the Fourth of July weekend in 2021. This trip, in fact, was the first family outing with all six of the Loves’ children, which included their 6-week-old son, Lincoln. However, this day of family fun would ultimately turn into a lifesaving moment for baby Lincoln, all thanks to a chance encounter with a stranger at the theme park.

At one point during the trip, Love noticed a man she did not know looking at Lincoln. Initially, she didn’t think much about it, but after passing the man for a second time in the park, the man stopped Love. The stranger introduced himself as a firefighter in a nearby county and told Love that it looked like Lincoln needed medical attention because “he was really jaundiced.” While Love had also noticed the infant’s symptoms, Lincoln’s pediatrician hadn’t seemed concerned about it. The firefighter’s comment, however, was the reassurance Love needed, leading her to call the pediatrician, whose office then recommended that Love take Lincoln to a local hospital for bloodwork.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Lincoln was put on IV fluids and examined by doctors. He was then transferred to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Florida. There, Lincoln underwent additional testing, two surgeries, and, unfortunately, several misdiagnoses. Finally, on July 30, 2024, Lincoln received a life-changing diagnosis—Alagille Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that can affect multiple organ systems of the body, including the liver, heart, skeleton, eyes, and kidneys.

Although baby Lincoln was eventually able to go home and was doing much better, he will need to be under the care of a nutritionist throughout his life to help treat vitamin deficiencies and will also have to take various medications. Love said she was so thankful to God and that there were not enough words to describe her gratitude for the caring stranger and his willingness to speak up.^[7]

3 Pumpkin Muffin

On June 17, 2023, the Glendale Police Department responded to a call from a passerby who reported that a German shepherd was stuck in a canal in Glendale, Arizona, and was swimming back and forth. When officers arrived, they found the distressed canine, who had no idea how to escape the predicament due to the sloped walls on the side.

It was then that one of the officers, Officer Sorenson, removed his ballistic vest and gun belt and tried to swim to the dog, hoping to rescue it with a leash. However, the exhausted dog was “skittish” and would not come to Officer Sorenson. From there, the police officers tried calling the dog over to the canal’s edge in hopes of being able to slip a leash around its neck, but unfortunately, the reach was too far, and the dog wouldn’t stay close enough, long enough to allow the rescue to happen. After several failed attempts, Officer Downey remembered that his wife had packed him some freshly baked pumpkin muffins for his patrol shift, which would serve as the perfect form of bribery.

Officer Downey retrieved one of the treats from his patrol car and handed it to Officer Sorenson. Now armed with a muffin, Officer Sorenson was able to lure the dog closer and safely pull him out of the water by his collar. Once the dog was back on dry land, he was allowed to enjoy some more of the pumpkin muffins for all his trouble. Thankfully, the dog was not hurt and was reunited with his owner, who lived just down the street.^[8]

2 Jeans

German tourists Arne Murke and his brother, Helge, had taken a commission to deliver the yacht, Wahoo, from Auckland, New Zealand, to Brazil. However, as the Murke brothers sailed down the New Zealand coastline on March 6, 2019, disaster struck. The 40-foot (12-meter) yacht’s mainsheet came loose amid the rough swells, causing the boom to swing around and knock Arne overboard.

Arne, who was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, was caught in a rope and dragged beside the boat for a few seconds but managed to break free. While Helge had thrown a life jacket and rope overboard to his brother, it was too far away, and Arne was carried off by the swell. He soon found himself all alone in the rough seas without any lifesaving equipment. That is until he remembered a trick he’d seen used by U.S. Navy SEALS. He decided to turn his jeans into a flotation device.

Arne took off his jeans, tied knots at the end of the legs, and pulled them over the water to get air inside. He then forced the jeans underwater to trap the air and essentially created a life jacket. Exhausted and losing hope, Arne was finally spotted by the Hawke’s Bay Rescue helicopter after spending approximately three and a half hours at sea.^[9]

1 Positive COVID Test

Tena Hughes of Phoenix, Arizona, always maintained an active lifestyle, often hiking and working out with friends and family. So it was no surprise when the mother of four planned a last-minute adventure to go on a safari to see gorillas in Uganda with a friend in January 2021. Unfortunately, on the day of departure, Hughes tested positive for COVID-19 and wasn’t allowed to go. Although the positive test ruined Hughes’s trip, she said the test was actually “a godsend” and saved her life.

You see, Hughes had been experiencing headaches for a while, but two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, the headaches became so severe that she went to the emergency room. An MRI revealed several cancerous tumors all over Hughes’s body, including her brain, lung, and spleen. She was then diagnosed with stage-four melanoma. After hearing about her planned trip to Uganda, the doctor there told Hughes, “Had you gotten to altitude with this size of a tumor in your brain, you would have died.”

Since her diagnosis, 54-year-old Hughes has had nine surgeries but stated all her tumors have vanished since starting a new FDA cancer treatment with the Honor Health Institute.) No doubt, Hughes will be forever thankful for that positive COVID test.^[10]

fact checked by
Darci Heikkinen