A man has credited his Apple Watch with saving his life from drowning after he fell into a creek that was partially frozen after he asked the virtual assistant Siri to “call 911”.

The incident took place in Oklahoma City, which is the capital city of the US state of Oklahoma.

Zenger News obtained a statement from the Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) who said on April 5: “Ryan White was on a hike when suddenly the trail gave way. Falling from considerable height, he slammed into icy waters.

“His leg pinned under a rock, injuries to his head and back, and struggling to stay above water, he called 911.

“Oklahoma City Police Officer Chris Goodwin responded to the call, locating White, and jumped in the water to rescue him. Thanks to the efforts of OKCPD, White is now able to share his story.”

White, 18, told the police that he had been exploring the local creek behind his neighborhood since he was a kid. But he said that on the day of the incident, it was a “really cold day” and he slid down the embankment.

White said he tumbled down the hill and landed on the ice on the partially frozen creek, crashing through it and ending up in the water.

He said that the way he had landed had caused his legs to be higher than his upper body, which was partially submerged.

He said that he could only manage to keep his head above the water, adding that as time went by, it was getting harder and harder to regain his footing.

He said that he shouted at his Apple Watch: “Hey Siri! Hey Siri! Call 911”

The virtual assistant appears to have heard him, with the call, the audio of which was released by the OKCPD, revealing a panting White telling the police that he had fallen into a creek.

Officer Chris Goodwin said that the call revealed that the young man’s leg was “trapped underneath a rock”.

The officers sent officers to the scene, tracking White down by pinpointing where the signal of the call was coming from.

The officer said that White was “lucky” and commended him for being able to place the call, calling it “amazing”.

White, meanwhile, praised the police for coming to his rescue. Kimberly White, Ryan’s mother, can be seen thanking the officer and hugging him in the footage provided by the police.

The officer, however, remained humble and stated that he was just doing his job.

These are stunning hyper-realistic pencil drawings that can take up to 100 hours to complete – but the artist insists anyone can master the skill if they put in the practice.

Emma Towers-Evans, 29, first picked up a pencil when she was just two years old and said her love for drawing began after watching the film ‘Free Willy’ when she was inspired to draw killer whales.

Now she creates incredible pencil portraits of people and animals – some of which can take her up to 100 hours to complete – and that are so realistic they look like photos.

Emma often completes the drawings on a large A1 or A0 paper and estimates each piece of artwork can have upwards of 500,000 individual pencil strokes.

She shares her incredible creations on TikTok and has racked up over 264,000 followers and an impressive 4.5 million likes on her videos (https://www.instagram.com/eteportraits/; https://www.tiktok.com/@eteportraits).

In some of her popular videos, she can be seen drawing portraits of well-known celebrities like Rhianna and Taylor Swift.

The self-taught artist insists ‘anyone’ can master the craft if they put in the hours after she saw her skills improve after years of practice.

Emma, who is an artist from Stourbridge, a market town in the West Midlands, in the United Kingdom, said: “I don’t believe people are ‘naturally talented’ when it comes to drawing.

“It’s taken me years of practice, patience, and dedication to get to where I am today.

“I think anyone can get to that level – you just need to have that same determination and self-belief.”

Emma loved drawing as a hobby during her childhood and teens, but never thought it would be her future career.

While at the University of Surrey, studying music and sound recording, she began doing commissions and would often draw portraits of people’s pets.

As her success continued, Emma decided to focus on drawing full-time and set up her website.

Now the pencil artist sells her original work and her subjects are often portraits of people.

She also created a series of big cat drawings called the ‘Felidae series’ and 25 percent of the proceeds when to cat conservation charities like the Born Free Foundation and Lion Aid.

One of these portraits was based on Christian the Lion – a famous pet lion who was bought from Harrods in the 1970s – and Emma had permission from the photographer to sketch his photo.

She said: “My style is hyper-realistic – I try to create something that looks as real as possible.

“I like to draw things from the natural world like people and animals.

“It’s really exciting to see something come alive on the paper.”

Emma set up her TikTok – @eteportraits – March 2020 and couldn’t believe the response she received.

Her videos capture each stage of her drawings and her partner, Nick Harding, 28, edits them.

In one video, she shows the process of creating her self-portrait which took 97 hours to complete.

Now she posts to her 264.9k followers and has racked up an incredible 4.5million likes.

She also has an Instagram page where she posts her stunning drawings to her 61.4k followers.

Emma said: “I started the page during lockdown as a bit of fun.

“The first one I posted was a timelapse video of a portrait and I can’t believe how popular it’s become.

“The comments and support I get are amazing.

“My boyfriend edits them and does an amazing job – I try to release a couple a week.”

The self-taught artist tries to encourage other people to pick up a pencil and give it a go.

She doesn’t believe in ‘talent’ and believes artistic skill comes from hours of hard work.

Emma said: “I think having that ability can be attenable for anyone.

“It’s just a case of knowing how to do it, which comes with lots of practice.

“I think anyone can become an artist if they’ve got the time and patience.”

More than half of Americans don’t know the names of all four of their grandparents, new research suggests.

A recent survey of 2,113 U.S. adults, including 1,911 from the top 10 Nielsen DMAs and 202 from Salt Lake City, found that there is a massive knowledge gap in more recent family history.

Knowledge of past generations varied by city, as 66% of Bostonians said they can name all of their grandparents, compared to only 26% of those in Philadelphia.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Ancestry, the survey also found that only 4% could name all eight of their great-grandparents.

When it came to knowing the most about their family history, seventy-five percent of people in Salt Lake City said they feel knowledgeable (75%) compared to 46% of those in Philadelphia sharing that sentiment.

Despite the knowledge gap, most respondents expressed interest in learning more about their family history (66%). In particular, over half (51%) want to know stories about when their ancestors were young and what their life was like at the time.

Most people said they know the bulk of their family history from parents (43%) or grandparents (40%) relaying stories.

“Listening to family stories is a great starting point to learn about your family’s past, but some details can get lost as they are passed down for generations,” said Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry. “Digging deeper into records, such as census records, can help fill in the gaps and add rich historical context about more recent family history.”

On April 1, the 1950 U.S. Census was made public. Ancestry is indexing the records state by state to make them searchable for everyone for free. The 151 million newly released records will provide key details about more recent generations.

With the release of the 1950 U.S. Census records, people are most interested to learn their ancestors’ employment details, including salary, status and hours worked (38%) and occupations (35%), followed by names (34%) and ages (34%).

“It’s exciting that younger generations now have the opportunity to learn more about family members they know, like parents and grandparents,” said Cowan. “The 1950 Census provides a fascinating look at an era in our collective history, marking the first time baby boomers appear in a U.S. census. The real magic happens when you discover a more complete picture of not only what your family member’s life was like at a moment in time, but also how it had changed over the decades.”

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR FAMILY HISTORY?

Stories of their ancestors when they were young/what their life was like at a moment in time – 51%

Ancestors’ connection to historical events – 46%

Where their last name comes from and/or what it means – 42%

Hardships their ancestors went through/overcame – 41%

Regions/countries their ancestors came from – 40%

The street/neighborhood their ancestors lived in – 38%