The treadmill training is "an enormous advance" avows William Zev Rymer, director of research for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

FORBES: To Walk Again

Last year the race, believed to be the oldest in the world, claimed the lives of two American pilots, Richard Abruzzo, 47, and Carol Rymer Davis, 65.

BBC: David Hempleman-Adams' gas balloon 'flying well' in race

It took until 1845, with the appearance of James Malcolm Rymer's serialized horror story "Varney the Vampire, " for the vampire's bite to become a properly rabid act of infection.

WSJ: Rabies: The Plague Behind Zombies and Vampires

But Rymer's roots-rockin' slices of family life, the Beasties' energetic and fun Americana songs, and the Sippy Cups' set of originals inspired by '60s and '70s rock were outstanding in their own right.

NPR: Zooglobble Favorite Kids' Albums of 2006