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Elderly man uses a piece of rope to save two beached dolphins all by himself

Walter Andreoli is a hero.

via J. Maughn/Flickr

Two Pacific white-sided dolphins.

An incredible video from San Antonio Este, Argentina, shows an elderly man saving two stranded dolphins using nothing but a rope. Walter Andreoli, the man who saved what appears to be two Pacific white-sided dolphins, believes they may have beached themselves in an attempt to escape from a pod of orcas.

Dolphins can survive out of water for several hours if they remain wet and cool. If they had been beached for a day, there wasn’t much time left to save them.

“In a second, I sensed what happened because the day before, orcas had been seen in the area,” Andreoli told Pagina12. “Since they eat them, I imagined that these little dolphins fled and, disoriented, were left stranded.”

Even though orcas and dolphins are closely related, dolphins are a regular part of a killer whale’s diet.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Andreoli found the dolphins in a secluded area where no one was there to help, although someone was close enough to shoot footage of the rescue. Even though white-sided dolphins are one of the smaller members of the species, they are still a lot to drag into the ocean. The average adult Pacific white-sided dolphin weighs about 300 to 400 pounds and can be up to 8 feet long.

“In the place where we found them there is no way to call the wildlife watch, we have no phone signal, and their lives were in danger,” Andreoli told Storyful. “The ATV had a rope and I towed them to the water and waited. I waited for the tide to come in and then I saw them leave on their own.”

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Check out 25 breathtaking libraries from all around the world.

"Libraries Transform"

That's the theme of this year's National Library Week, an annual awareness celebration sponsored by the American Library Association.

You might be wondering why something as ubiquitous as a library would need more attention, considering the fact they've been pretty major staples of civilization since at least2600 B.C. But that's because you live in a time and place where information resources are readily available, so it's easy to take them for granted. And of course, the only reason we have books and knowledge and guidance right there at our fingertips is — you guessed it — libraries.

Here are some physically transformative libraries from across the globe to show you just how transcendent they can be.

Tree of Knowledge? Books are like trees turned into knowledge! Photo by Alfred Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images.

1. Geisel Library — University of California, San Diego

This beautiful brutalist spaceship was named for Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel), and plenty of Seussian statues litter the gardens around it.

Photo by Belis@rio/Flickr.

2. Admont Abbey library — Admont, Austria

The largest monastic library in the world dates back to 1776, and contains thousands upon thousands of historical manuscripts and records from throughout the monks' history.

Photo by Jorge Royan/Wikimedia Commons.

3. The AD White Reading Room at Uris Library — Cornell University

This reading room was named for one of the co-founders of the university, but it looks more like something out of a Lemony Snicket story. The library's collection also claims one of the only extant copies of the Gettysburg Address, plus first editions of "Origin of Species," the "Book of Mormon," and "Pride and Prejudice."

Photo by eflon/Flickr.

4. Bibliotheca Alexandrina — Egypt

The original Ancient Royal Library of Alexandria was built in the third century B.C., but the newest building to commemorate it was inaugurated in 2002. The original structure was destroyed and burned frequently during historical conflicts, so while the library's latest iteration might not be that old, it's still pretty stunning.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images.

5. Arma de Instrucción Masiva — Buenos Aires

Why yes that is an armored tank that travels the world giving out books. OK, technically it's a converted Ford Falcon designed by an Argentinian artist named Raul Lemesoff, but this "weapon of mass instruction" (get it?) is still awesome.

Photo by Carlos Adampol Galindo/Flickr.

6. Mobile Beach Library — Tel Aviv

Who cares about a beach bod when you can flex your mind? The Tel Aviv Municipality cultural department set this cart up at Metzitzim Beach for the enjoyment of locals and tourists alike.

Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images.

7. Levinski Garden Library — Tel Aviv

Also found in Tel Aviv, this stand was setup in 2010 as a "social-artistic urban community project" specifically designed to appeal to the city's immigrant and refugee populations.

Photo by Itzuvit/Wikimedia Commons.

8. Biblioteca Vasconcelos — Mexico City

Speaking of knowledge, Wikipedia leads me to believe that this $100 million project is totally definitely not a glitch in "The Matrix." OK, sure.

Photo by Eneas De Troya/Flickr.

9. The Bibliobus, Bookmobile, or other motor-powered information vehicle

Easily accessible information is a key tenet to democracy. But not everyone can get to a physical library (or a computer with internet access). So these bookbuses bring the words to the people (or at least to underserved communities in their respective municipalities).

This particular one is run by the Ottawa Public Library system. Photo by SimonP/Wikimedia Commons.

10. Kudapustaka (translated: "horse library") — Indonesia

The mobile libraries above are cool and all, but they're not so useful for remote locations like Central Java Indonesia. Like a knight in paperback armor, Ridwan Sururi and his trusted steed, Luna, spread knowledge across the communities of the island, helping to educate its many residents.

Photo by Putu Sayoga/Getty Images.

11. Biblioburro (translated: "donkey library") — Colombia

Similar to the kudapustaka above, the biblioburro is run by a primary school teacher named Luis Soriano and his donkeys, Alfa and Beto, and it brings literature and adventure to children in poor and remote parts of the country. They even have their very own documentary!

Photo by Acción Visual/Diana Arias/Wikimedia Commons.

12. Tiny Free Libraries — everywhere

We've already written about these and they're still every bit as wonderful as they were then.

Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

13. The Long Room at Trinity College — Dublin

Ireland has a long history of maintaining written records and copies of, well, everything. The history of the Trinity College library goes back to the late-16th century, but since 1801, it's served as an archive collection for any copyrighted material printed in Ireland or the U.K., making it a massive trove of intellectual property.

Photo by David Iliff/Wikimedia Commons.

14. National Library of Kosovo — Pristina

Kosovo has a long and complicated history, but it's still pretty remarkable they were able to take golf balls lodged in a chainlink fence as inspiration for a reference space full of private reading rooms. Yes, it's been called one of the ugliest buildings in the world — but in truth, that shouldn't distract from the incredible fact that a central hub of information like this has remained intact throughout all of the country's conflicts.

Photo by Fitore Syla/Wikimedia Commons.

15. National and University Library — France

Located in Strasbourg near the Eastern border of France, this library was actually founded by the German Empire after the city's original municipal library was destroyed by Prussia. In a testament to the power of information, the new library received an overflow of book donations from countries across Europe and the United States, and it now holds France's second largest collection at 3 million volumes.

Photo by Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images.

16. The National Library of China — Beijing

Sometimes reading a good book is like spiraling down an endless hole of awesomeness. That's also how it feels to stare down the levels of China's immaculate National Library, which contains the largest collection of Chinese literature and historical documents in the world, as well as one of the largest overall collections in the world, spanning more than 115 languages.

Photo by IQRemix/Flickr.

17. Community Bookshelf — Kansas City, Missouri

OK so technically this a parking garage next to the Kansas City Public Library, but it still counts. 'Cause c'mon, that's awesome. Each of the 22 books (which you can imagine endured a daunting selection process) measures approximately 25 feet tall by nine feet wide.

Photo by Tim Samoff/Flickr.

18. Philippines neighborhood library — Manila

After his parents passed away, Nanie Guanlao wanted to find a unique way to honor their memory. So he put a few dozen books outside his house for free and encouraged people to borrow them — which they did and brought back new book donations with them. 15 years later, his home library boasts thousands of books, and some locals consider it the true "national library" of the Philippines.

Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images.

19. Stockholm Public Library — Sweden

This place is just plain ol' gorgeous. Maybe "Stockholm syndrome" should mean getting lost in these stacks.

Photo by Chibi Code/Flickr.

20. Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart — Germany

Stuttgart's original public library at Wilhelms Palais was the converted home of King Wilhelm II. The new location, which opened in 2011, is less of a castle, more of a spaceship come from the future to transport our brains beyond the stars. (I always wondered why my friend who grew up in Stuttgart was so well-versed in literature; now I understand.)

Photo by O Palsson/Flickr.

21. The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library — New Haven

One of the world's largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, they have an original Gutenberg Bible! And if that's not amazing enough, just look at those glass columns. It's like the past and the future converged in one place. Books will blow your mind, man.

Photo by Lauren Manning/Flickr.

22. Metropolitan book vending machinea — Tokyo

Looking for cigarettes, soda, or maybe snack? Japan's got a better idea — use your imagination. (Please note: Thoughts do not contain calories and Upworthy is not responsible for any damage caused by supplementing your nutritional intake with books.)

Photo by Pedro Layant/Flickr.

23. This converted phone booth — Prague

Can you think of a better way to brighten up a hospital waiting room? If you're a book fiend with a crippling fear of hospitals, like me, it's perfect. Phone booth libraries like this have also been known to pop up in places like London and Berlin, particularly as mobile phones have increased in popularity and stationary phone booths have otherwise lost their purpose.

Photo by Michael Cizek/AFP/Getty Images.

24. National Library of Brazil — Rio de Janeiro

The largest library in Latin America has been on the cutting edge of science education and technology since it opened in 1810. And like the Mexico City library above, it is definitely totally not a scene from "The Matrix."

Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images.

25. National Digital Library — Seoul

Also known as the "Dibrary," this building boasts plenty of advanced information technology facilities, offering a wide range of e-books and magazines, and digital movies and music — just no actual physical media of any kind. But that's OK; information access still counts in kilobytes as well as in paper (wrote the writer on the website).

Photo by Mosman Library/Flickr.

So yes, libraries transform.

They transform minds. They transform cultures. They even transform the world, both metaphorically and physically. If libraries can transform spaces like this, imagine what they can do to your mind.

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17 chilling photos of glaciers that could melt even the hardest politician's heart.

It's time to save the world. Literally.

Did you know there are glaciers in South America?

There are, and they're beautiful! The Patagonian ice fields, located in the southern Patagonia Andes of Chile and Argentina, are the largest ice mass in the Southern Hemisphere with the exception of Antarctica, and the third largest freshwater reserve in the world.

While ice, snow, and glaciers might not be what comes to mind when you think of South America, near the southernmost part of the continent, that's exactly what you'll find.

All photos by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photojournalist Mario Tama recently visited the ice field, capturing the beauty of the ice formations alongside the signs of the toll climate change has taken on the area.

The southern ice field is roughly five times the size of Rhode Island.

The southern ice field is made up of roughly 50 glaciers and runs across parts of Argentina and Chile.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

In 1937, Argentina established Los Glaciares National Park to preserve a vast region of Patagonia.

It's unique ecosystem combines things like waterfalls, rivers, forests, and, yes, glaciers.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

People walking across the Perito Moreno Glacier in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

UNESCO inscribed Los Glaciares National Park as a "World Heritage" in 1981.

UNESCO describes the park as "an area of exceptional natural beauty, with rugged, towering mountains and numerous glacial lakes."

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Glaciers sometimes look bluish in color because of light refraction.

Part of a glacier breaks off as the result of melting. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

The U.S. National Parks Service explains this phenomenon (and how you can experience it for yourself):

"Because the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered. The longer the path light travels in ice, the more blue it appears. So... why is snow white? Light does not penetrate into snow very far before being scattered back to the viewer. However, the next time you are in an igloo, notice that it is blue inside. You can also poke a stick into some snow, shade the area around the hole, and look deep into the snow pack. The light that has traveled some distance through the snow will be enhanced in blue."

Between 2000 and 2012, these glaciers melted at a rate roughly 1.5 times faster than ever previously recorded.

Melting occurs throughout the glacier, and while it may not be completely uniform in pattern, recent studies suggest it's becoming more normalized throughout. Which means the whole glacier is starting to melt at roughly the same rate.

Melted glacial ice floats in Los Glaciares National Park. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

The rapidly melting glaciers are leading to rising sea levels.

Melting of glaciers and ice caps are the biggest contributors to rising sea levels around the world. As glaciers melt, the freshwater stored within gets dumped into surrounding bodies of water. If unchecked, this could pose disastrous consequences for people around the world.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

As is the case for other glaciers around the world, it's climate change that's driving the melt-off.

Glaciers and other ice structures are some of the most impressive natural storers of climate information. As glaciers have been around for a very long time, they've existed through warming and cooling periods. Recent data extracted from glaciers, however, shows that the modern melt-off is different from naturally occurring fluctuations.

This is Lake Argentino, which holds runoff water from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Horses run outside Los Glaciares National Park. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Some say it's too late to stop the melting, but that doesn't mean we should give up.

Dr. Ian Joughin of the University of Washington explained to the New York Times that climate change has destabilized glacier-covered areas, and without a stabilization mechanism, we'll continue to see glaciers melting.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Climate change is very real, and in addition to wiping glaciers from the earth, there are other dire consequences.

Rising sea levels may make some currently populated places totally uninhabitable. Additionally, due to climate change, the world can expect to see an increase in unseasonable and unpredictable storms, more droughts, and more heat waves.

But there are things we can (and should) do to help stop it. Like urging politicians to take action.

Over the next two weeks, 150 world leaders are meeting in Paris to discuss what we, as human beings, can do to preserve our planet and fight climate change. Some individuals don't believe we should take action, and some even doubt the reality of climate change (although 97% of the world's climate scientists assure humanity that yes, it is very real).

But meaningful change starts with letting our elected officials know that yes, this is an issue worth prioritizing for the sake of our world and generations to come.

So before the glaciers say their final "goodbye," let's do something about it!

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Watch Argentinian men join women to march for gender equality. It's an amazing moment.

Welcome to #NiUnaMenos.

Right now there's a gender violence crisis happening in Argentina.

The gender motivated killing of women is called "femicide," and Argentina has one of the worst rates of femicide in the world. It's a terrifying problem, and one that experts say is intertwined with a culture of "machismo" and misogyny in the country. Some reports indicate that one woman is killed about every 30 hours in Argentina.

But Argentinian women are taking the conversation about femicide into their own hands, and it's been incredibly cool to watch.

They've started to fight back through a campaign called #NiUnaMenos, which means "not one less."

The power of women's voices. Photo by Jaluj/Wikimedia Commons.

Here's what you need to know about the protests:

On May 6, 2015, the body of a 14-year-old pregnant girl, Ciara Paez, was found dead in her boyfriend's garden in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was another tragic victim of femicide. Paez was beaten to death by her boyfriend, whose mother had also participated in the crime. Paez was just one of many femicide victims under the age of 20 to be killed this past spring, but her murder was the one that sparked the #NiUnaMenos movement.

Following Paez's murder, journalist Marcela Ojeda posted a tweet that read, "They are killing us: Aren't we going to do anything?" with the now famous #NiUnaMenos hashtag.

The message of this tweet sent shockwaves throughout Buenos Aires, and three weeks later, tens of thousands of women took to the streets to protest gender violence.

The #NiUnaMenos movement is a brave and urgent cry for women's rights.

And now the men of Argentina have started to join the movement, too.

In a show of solidarity with #NiUnaMenos, hundreds of men walked through the streets of Buenos Aires last week wearing skirts.

Why? Business Standard reported that one of the skirted protesters said that the protest was a way to teach his son about gender equality. "This march was very useful to convey to my son [...] there is no privilege in being a male," he said.

The men standing with #NiUnaMenos say that they want to help redefine masculinity.

They want to convey the message that men are not superior to women and do not "wear the pants" in society or in personal relationships.

By walking proudly through the streets wearing skirts, the male protestors also wanted to demonstrate that there is nothing shameful about a man in a skirt and that true shame lies with men who commit violence against women.

The lesson here? Maybe equality is possible if we can combine forces.

We have a long way to go, yes. Men hold positions of social privilege all over the world. But in Argentina, it's amazing to see what can happen when men use that privilege to support women's rights. It gives me hope for the gender struggles faced by people living in every country on our planet.

I also believe that #NiUnaMenos is an incredible example of how a community effort can lead to empowerment and how men also have an important role to play in the fight for women's rights.

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