World's Most Interesting Places: Vol. 9 | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

Chess Country (11s)

• Chess has been around for 500 years, but until a couple of summers ago, the game was still mostly a mystery to the folks of rural Franklin County, Mississippi, where a chess board was as out of place as a skyscraper (18s).
• A tall stranger, Dr. Jeff Bulington, arrived from Memphis to bring chess to the country, believing the game could transform a community, and was initially met with skepticism (42s).
• Less than two years later, a chess boom is underway in the unlikeliest of places, with Dr. Bulington teaching the kids of Franklin County a new subject, chess (51s).
• Franklin County is a remote area in the southwest corner of Mississippi, with a population of 7,000 people, where the trains don't stop anymore, and half the county is covered by a national forest (1m2s).
• Dr. Bulington showed up at the local elementary school to teach the kids chess, and everyone was surprised, as no one had played chess before, except for seeing it on TV (1m32s).
• The kids, including Donovan Moore, Braden Ferell, Parker Wilkinson, and Benson Chakre, didn't know what to make of Dr. B when he first appeared in 2015 (1m54s).
• Dr. Bulington was lured to Franklin County by a wealthy benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, who had seen how Bulington had molded chess champions in Memphis (2m35s).
• The benefactor convinced Bulington to give a few demonstration lessons in Franklin County, and afterwards, Bulington was asked if he thought the kids could have a chess program, to which he replied, "Of course, they're as smart as any other kids I've ever met" (3m7s).
• Motivated by the challenge, Bulington signed a 10-year contract with the benefactor and left the city for the country to teach chess (3m11s).
• Bulington has taught chess for the better part of 25 years and is a master of using chess to tell a narrative, especially with beginners (3m21s).
• He uses storytelling to teach chess, such as adapting Little Red Riding Hood to the chessboard, to make the game more engaging and fun for the kids (3m35s).
• Initially, it was expected that maybe 12 kids would play chess, but now a couple hundred kids are playing, and students flock to Bulington because, at heart, he's one of them, having grown up in rural Indiana (4m12s).
• Bobby P, a part-time preacher and full-time assistant chess coach, works with Bulington, who has opened up a new world to his kids through chess, teaching them history, geography, science, and math using the game (4m45s).
• Despite initial doubts that Bulington's team could succeed in Mississippi due to the state's poor statistics, the team proved them wrong by winning the Mississippi state championships (5m12s).
• Rebecca Griffin, a fifth-grader at the time, played against much older high school players and won, with her opponents initially underestimating her due to her age (5m42s).
• Griffin didn't feel bad about beating the older kids, stating she's okay with "crushing people's spirits" (6m21s).
• Franklin County dominated the state championships, with Mitch Ham, a parent, believing the victory served as a milestone for the kids, helping them realize their potential (6m31s).
• The teachers reacted with surprise, with some stating they didn't know the kids were capable of such achievements, highlighting that some kids have been underestimated or written off for false reasons (7m6s).
• Chess has helped Bulington players see there's more to themselves than they've seen before, with one player stating that chess has improved their grades and given them a sense of confidence (7m34s).
• The chess players, including Bradden Rutland, plan to attend college someday, a rare achievement in Franklin County, where only seven of 93 graduates from the high school went on to a 4-year college last year (8m10s).
• Bradden's mom, Jennifer Rutland, believes her son won't be flipping burgers for a living and is proud to see her kids dream bigger than the county line (8m20s).
• Chess has become a vehicle for kids to set higher goals and explore a wider world beyond their current circumstances, filling a social void and giving a community a pulse, as seen in the town of Meville, where a new chess center opened in October (9m10s).
• The chess center has become a beacon in the county, providing daily instruction to kids with the desire and aptitude for the game, with students becoming so immersed in chess that they continue playing at home (9m32s).
• The possibility of the best chess player in the world coming from Franklin County is considered "super possible" by some, but before that, they would need to face the nation (9m55s).
• 33 of Franklin County's chess players and their parents traveled to Nashville for the national championships, a 10-hour journey that marked their biggest test yet (10m6s).
• The national championships featured over 1,500 players from 644 schools, with every grade from K to 12 competing for a national title, and the best teams coming from top schools in New York City (10m50s).
• Initially, Franklin County's players struggled, losing 30 of their first 32 games, but they eventually bore down, taking more time to probe for openings and watch for threats (11m20s).
• The players' mantra, "let your opponent show you how they'd like to lose," helped them improve, and by the final day, Franklin County's fifth and sixth graders were hovering near the top 10 (12m7s).
• Key players, including Parker Wilkinson, Braden Frell, Benson Chakre, and Donovan Moore, delivered crucial wins, with Donovan Moore's victory against a higher-rated opponent from Kentucky being a turning point (12m28s).
• Franklin County's fifth graders ultimately placed eighth in the country, and the sixth graders placed 10th, marking a successful debut on the national stage for Franklin County Upper Elementary (13m2s).
• Jeff Bulington introduced chess to a small county in Mississippi a year and a half ago, and he expresses gratitude for the opportunity to teach and learn from the experience (13m16s).
• The students have shown remarkable capabilities, and Bulington believes they have the potential to be among the top three in their field (13m31s).
• A student from Franklin County is asked about their commitment to the chess program and responds that they do not view it as "sticking it out" but rather as doing what they want to do and being in a place they like (13m35s).
• The student's response suggests a positive attitude towards their involvement in the chess program and a desire to continue participating (13m43s).

Lourdes (13m55s)

• The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France is a site of 70 medical miracles recognized by the Catholic Church, with a Marian Shrine famous to the faithful, but less well known is the Lord's Office of Medical Observations that investigates claims of cures reported over the years (14m5s).
• The Office of Medical Observations is where world-renowned doctors and researchers conduct decade-long investigations into the countless claims of cures, determining which cases can be medically explained and which cannot (14m19s).
• The small French town of Lourdes draws more than 3 million pilgrims every year, with almost everyone having heard stories of miracles, including the story of Sister Bernardette Moro, who suffered from CA equina, a disorder of the nerves and lower spine (14m50s).
• Sister Moro had exhausted all treatment options and was convinced by her doctor to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2008, where she prayed with others and did not go seeking a miracle, but rather to pray with others (16m3s).
• Pilgrims come from all over the world to Lourdes seeking to be healed by the shrine's natural spring waters and the power of prayer, including Kim Halpin, who has incurable blood cancer and came to cleanse herself in the waters (16m42s).
• Many volunteers aid the sick pilgrims, including the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American volunteers, who helped Jamie Jensen travel from Minnesota for his 18th visit, despite having cerebral palsy (17m29s).
• Jensen's trips to Lourdes have not given him the physical miracle he wanted, but he says he got the miracle he needed, which is inner peace and acceptance, although this does not meet the bar for the Office of Medical Observations (17m58s).
• The sanctuary has three basilicas and 25 chapels, with thousands of faithful lining up at the baths and at the Grotto where the first miracle is said to have occurred, despite the low odds of being recognized as a medical miracle (18m43s).
• The city of Lourdes has a Grand Theater complex with multiple stages offering dozens of pious performances throughout the day, culminating in a candlelit procession every night, all thanks to the influence of St. Bernadette (18m56s).
• According to Catholic lore, in 1858, a mysterious woman appeared to 14-year-old peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous in a grotto, speaking with her several times over five months and claiming to be the Immaculate Conception on March 25, the day of the Annunciation (19m21s).
• When word of the apparition spread, people flocked to Lourdes, and within days, claims of miracle cures began to emerge, including restored ability to walk and sight (19m55s).
• The church established the Office of Medical Observations in 1883 to investigate these claims, which involves applying seven strict criteria to determine whether a cure is truly miraculous (20m10s).
• Sister Benedetta Morio, who was wheelchair-bound, visited Lourdes 14 years ago and reported hearing the voice of Jesus, telling her to give him her suffering and that of her sick brothers and sisters (20m27s).
• After returning home, Sister Morio felt rejuvenated spiritually but physically worse, until she suddenly found the strength to walk to the chapel and pray, and then felt a heat coming into her body, after which she was able to remove her braces and walk without pain (20m59s).
• Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, president and residing physician at the Lourdes Office of Medical Observations, hears stories like Sister Morio's all the time and applies the seven criteria to determine whether they are truly miraculous (21m57s).
• The criteria include a diagnosis of a severe disease with a severe prognosis, a sudden and complete cure, and no possible explanation for the cure (22m16s).
• The archives at the Office of Medical Observations hold thousands of recorded claims of cures, but only 70 have been officially recognized as miracles by the church (22m50s).
• What separates these miracles from the other claims is an extensive amount of medical documentation and patients willing to put their lives under a microscope, undergoing multiple tests and examinations (23m9s).
• Sister Morio's case was reviewed by a group of 33 doctors and professors called The International Medical Committee of Lourdes to determine whether her cure was medically unexplained, with the committee ultimately concluding that it was after eight years of investigation (24m0s).
• The International Medical Committee of Lourdes, also referred to as the "devil's advocates," consists of medical professionals such as Dr. Michael Moran, a surgical oncologist, Dr. ASC Mwin, a professor of Urology at John's Hopkins, and Dr. Kieran Morari, a renowned addiction specialist (24m22s).
• The committee's investigation of Sister Morio's case involved scrutinizing her medical history to determine if there was anything that could have caused her response to treatment, with the conclusion that no treatment would be that effective that quickly (24m41s).
• The committee's medical conversation is separate from their personal beliefs, with a focus on technical details and objectivity, similar to a forensic pathologist (25m4s).
• The investigation of Sister Morio's case, as well as other cures, is done on a purely medical basis, with the possibility of peer review by other physicians (25m25s).
• At least 300 physicians have reviewed Sister Morio's case, with all information and files available for review by other medical professionals (25m42s).
• In 2018, a decade after her cure, Sister Morio's case was declared the 70th Miracle of Lourdes, with the declaration of a miracle being an acknowledgment that God intervened in the healing process (26m18s).
• The declaration of a miracle is separate from the medical investigation, with the church having the final say in determining whether a miracle occurred (26m30s).
• The response to skeptics is to be open-minded and consider the possibility that there are aspects of the world that cannot be explained by science or visible evidence (26m45s).

The Power of Grimsby (27m25s)

• President Biden signed a sweeping climate bill in August, prioritizing offshore wind power, with the goal of generating enough power for 10 million American homes by 2030 using the force of the wind in the open seas (27m26s).
• There are currently only seven offshore wind turbines off the coast of the United States, compared to nearly 6,000 in Europe, with critics arguing they are expensive to build and maintain, unpredictable, and ugly (27m47s).
• The largest offshore wind farm in the world is located along the northeast coast of England, known as the Hornsey wind farm, featuring over 300 turbines spread across 335 square miles, generating enough electricity to power more than 2 million homes a day (28m35s).
• To understand the power, size, and upkeep of this technology, a visit was made to the Hornsey wind farm, where 24-year-old Briy Salmon, a turbine technician, scales and services the turbines, having been selected from a pool of 500 applicants for an apprentice program (29m7s).
• Briy's family has a history of working in the area, with her great-grandfather working on the Grimsby docks and her dad owning a 100-year-old smoked fish shop in town, and she decided to apply for the apprentice program after bartending (29m36s).
• The apprentice program combines classroom instruction with hands-on work at sea, but the weather in the North Sea is ever-changing, making every day different and requiring adaptability (30m5s).
• The turbines are massive, standing nearly 600 ft high with spinning fiberglass blades roughly the length of the world's largest passenger jet, each weighing almost 30 tons, and are partially assembled on shore before being shipped out to sea (30m55s).
• The turbines are attached with surgical precision to the top of the turbine, with every angle needing to be perfect to generate maximum power, and keeping them spinning is critical, with one revolution able to power one home in the UK (31m17s).
• Offshore wind turbine technician Bridey works on maintaining turbines in the North Sea, often in harsh weather conditions, and must climb an 8-story ladder to reach the top of the turbine while harnessed to a cable (31m32s).
• The job requires careful inspection and servicing of the turbine's lights and other components, and can be physically demanding and scary due to the height, wind, and motion of the tower (32m31s).
• Ben Sykes, Vice President of Offshore Wind at Ørsted, a Danish-based global energy supplier, notes that extraordinary efforts are needed in extraordinary times to address the energy crisis in Europe and Britain (33m13s).
• Ørsted decided to sell off its oil and gas business and focus on renewable energies about six years ago, and has invested in the Hornsea Wind Farm off the coast of Grimsby, a depressed fishing town in the UK (33m44s).
• Grimsby was chosen as the location for the wind farm due to its good port, geographical location, water depth, wind resource, and proximity to the National Grid (33m58s).
• The UK has a strategy to use 100% clean or renewable electricity by 2035, and offshore wind is a key part of this plan due to its ability to be built at a large scale, similar to a nuclear power station (34m17s).
• Offshore wind is unique in that it can be built at a large scale, making it a viable option for meeting energy demands, and is also one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK (34m31s).
• The cost of constructing, transmitting, and decommissioning offshore wind farms is not passed on to consumers, as it is privately funded by Ørsted and its investment partners (35m12s).
• Political consensus and investor confidence have been key factors in the growth of the offshore wind industry in the UK over the past decade (35m29s).
• The UK's power supply is still largely dependent on gas and nuclear energy, but 14% of Britain's energy has come from offshore wind this year, with only China producing more offshore wind power than the UK (35m46s).
• Offshore wind power works by using wind to turn blades around a shaft inside a turbine, which generates energy that travels down cables buried under the seabed to an offshore substation and then to a power station on land (35m58s).
• The UK can predict extremely accurately how much wind power will be generated over the next few days using satellites and other technology, allowing grid operators to make clear plans about demand and supply (36m28s).
• The turbines in Hornsea operate 98-99% of the time, making them a reliable source of energy (36m43s).
• The town of Grimsby was once home to the largest fishing fleet in the world, with 700 trawlers and a port that hosted a visit from the Queen, but the industry declined after Iceland enforced fishing restrictions in their waters (36m52s).
• Dennis Avery and Bob Forby, two retired fishermen, recall the tough but rewarding work of fishing and the devastating impact of the industry's decline on the town (37m17s).
• The decline of the fishing industry led to widespread unemployment and economic hardship in Grimsby, with many businesses suffering as a result (38m11s).
• The offshore energy company Ørsted has invested over $18 billion in local wind farms and created 600 jobs in Grimsby, but some people worry about the environmental impact of the wind turbines and the lack of job creation (38m34s).
• Retired fishermen Avery and Forby are concerned that the benefits of wind power have not been felt by local residents, with electricity bills increasing rather than decreasing (38m59s).
• The UK government has announced plans to drill for more oil and gas in the North Sea and speed up the development of offshore wind farms in response to fears of blackouts following the war in Ukraine (39m41s).
• Ben Sykes plans to invest $17 billion in wind farms over the next eight years and add more than 300 jobs in Grimsby. (39m54s)
• The town of Grimsby is transitioning from a fishing town to a powerhouse of the north, with a focus on offshore wind projects. (40m21s)
• The fishing industry was once fantastic for Grimsby, but that era has passed, and the town is now looking to create a new chapter in its life and the country's life through the development of wind farms. (40m6s)
• The development of wind farms is expected to play a significant role in shaping the town's future and fortune. (40m29s)
• The transition of Grimsby's economy is seen as an amazing development, with the town proud to be a part of it and contributing to the country's growth. (40m27s)

The Wolves of Yellowstone (40m42s)

• Wolves have had an image problem since ancient times, being portrayed as fearsome and voracious predators in fables, legends, and the Bible, with the story of the big bad wolf being the most memorable and frightening of all the fairy tales told by the Brothers Grimm (40m42s).
• In the early 20th century, wolves were wiped off the landscape in America, trapped, poisoned, and hunted until there was not a single one left in the American West (41m6s).
• The National Park Service brought wolves back to Yellowstone Park almost exactly 25 years ago, following a bitter debate between wildlife groups who wanted them restored and ranchers who did not (41m20s).
• The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park has had an impact that almost no one saw coming, with wolf tourism pumping $35 million a year into the local economy, much of it spent in the winter, which is prime wolf-watching time (43m18s).
• Yellowstone Park was the world's first national park, founded in 1872, and it remains one of the most visited, with millions of people coming every summer, but they used to leave it to the wildlife in the winter until the wolves came back (42m17s).
• Reports of a wolf sighting can produce a traffic jam along the 150-mile stretch of road the park service keeps open in the winter, with visitors gathering with spotting scopes in absolutely frigid weather for a momentary, long-distance view (42m36s).
• Doug Smith runs the Yellowstone wolf research program for the park service and notes that no one predicted the appeal of coming to see the wolves, with hundreds of thousands of people a year estimated to come just to see them (42m57s).
• The first grey wolves captured in Canada were carried into Yellowstone Park on January 12th, 1995, drawing both national attention and fierce opposition, with armed guards posted to protect those wolves (44m2s).
• A total of 41 wolves were released into Yellowstone Park over three years, and there are now 96 wolves in 10 packs, with the population remaining roughly stable at around 100 wolves for the last 10 years (44m29s).
• The 10 packs of wolves in Yellowstone Park are the most closely observed and studied wolves on Earth, with the goal of keeping touch with each pack by attaching radio collars to at least two wolves in each pack (44m43s).
• The process of attaching radio collars to wolves involves flying out in an airplane to find wolves in the open, then radioing a waiting helicopter on the ground, which flies out with a gunner in the back seat to shoot a radio collar onto the wolf (45m0s).
• Yellowstone wolves are tracked and studied using tranquilizing darts, blood samples, and radio collars, which provide valuable information on their behavior and health, with a typical lifespan of about 5 years (45m25s).
• The leading cause of death among Yellowstone wolves is attacks from other wolves, and they are known for their fierce and territorial nature (45m46s).
• Radio collars have helped researchers like Doug Smith's team learn about wolf behavior, and volunteers like Rick McIntyre assist in tracking and locating the wolves (46m6s).
• Wolf packs are typically led by an alpha male and female, who are the only ones that mate with each other, and are known for their social dynamics and personalities (47m0s).
• Wolf packs work together to hunt their favorite prey, elk, by coordinating their attacks and targeting vulnerable prey, such as calves, old, or injured elk (47m51s).
• The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has had an unexpected side effect, as the reduction in elk populations has allowed plants to recover, benefiting other species like beavers and songbirds (48m32s).
• The recovery of plants has also led to the regrowth of trees and shrubs in areas like gullies, which has had a positive impact on the ecosystem (48m47s).
• Environmentalists have declared wolves the saviors of Yellowstone's ecology, but researchers like Doug Smith acknowledge that the relationship is more complex (49m12s).
• The debate over wolf reintroduction was highly emotional, with some people viewing wolves as a symbol of romance and others seeing them as a threat, but hunters like Randy Newberg argue that wolves are simply a natural part of the ecosystem (49m32s).
• Eric Ca's family has been raising cattle and sheep on their Montana Ranch for 100 years, and he was worried about the return of wolves to Yellowstone, about 100 miles to the south, as he knew they wouldn't stay in the park and would eventually reach his ranch (50m5s).
• Eric anticipated that wolves would follow migrating elk out of Yellowstone and onto his ranch, and he took defensive measures by hiring range riders to watch over his cattle and buying guard dogs to protect his sheep (50m31s).
• Despite his efforts, neighboring ranchers have lost livestock to wolves, and Eric notes that the emotional toll of wolf attacks, including lost sleep and nervousness, cannot be measured or compensated for (51m3s).
• The fear of wolf attacks led to their eradication in the early 20th century, but after the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, wolves were listed and a campaign began to restore them to Yellowstone (51m33s).
• After wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, they quickly spread to neighboring states, and there are now nearly 2,000 in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho (51m53s).
• The states eventually won the authority to manage and sometimes kill wolves outside the national park, which has helped to calm emotions and reduce passions around the issue (52m11s).
• The management of wolves includes immediately killing any that attack livestock, and there is also a hunting season for wolves in all three states, which has increased people's willingness to share the landscape with them (52m44s).
• Randy Newberg, who filmed a wolf hunt for his TV show, notes that hunting wolves has increased respect for them and their abilities (52m58s).
• Despite differences between hunters, ranchers, and wolf watchers, there is now agreement that gray wolves are back in Yellowstone for good, and people are drawn to the authenticity and wildness they represent (53m31s).