Tech & Innovation
One billion people worldwide stop breathing while they sleepI thought I was dying.
Updated July 21, 202223 min read
I thought I was dying.
Kevin Portillo practises smiling every day at home. Usually after brushing his teeth. Or when stopping by the bathroom, or anywhere with a mirror.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that counting the different types of smiles would be straightforward. It’s anything but.
Alcides Moreno and his brother Edgar were window washers in New York City. The two Ecuadorian immigrants worked for City Wide Window Cleaning, suspended high above the congested streets, dragging wet squeegees across the acres of glass that make up the skyline of Manhattan.
On April 14, 2016, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southernmost island of Kyushu, toppling buildings and sending residents rushing into the streets. Hundreds of aftershocks–one an even stronger 7.0 quake–continued for days, killing 49 people, injuring 1,500 and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.