Baby Jessica
Before Midland, Texas became known as George W. Bush's childhood home, it was at the center of one of the biggest media events in U.S. history — Baby Jessica's 2½ days trapped in a well. On Oct. 14, 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure — left alone for moments in her aunt's backyard — fell into an 8-in.-wide, 22-ft.-deep abandoned well. It was 58 hours before she was finally rescued. One of the images of Jessica's bandaged face as she was being pulled from the well won a Pulitzer Prize.
In the rare interviews she has granted since becoming old enough to talk, McClure has revealed that she remembers nothing of the event and views her scars with "pride" because she "survived." The 24-year-old is now married with a young son and has a little less than a year to go before she will gain access to a trust fund worth $1 million — money donated in her name by well-wishers for the toddler who got through nearly three days of terror by singing Winnie the Pooh songs.