Thirty-five years ago, 18-month-old Jessica McClure became trapped down an 8-inch-wide well shaft. The world watched live as rescuers raced against the clock to save her. The story was quickly picked up by nearly every media outlet, and 24-hour news coverage followed the 58-hour ordeal. President Ronald Reagan captured the sentiment when reflecting on the phenomenon of the ordeal: “Everybody in America became godfathers and godmothers of baby Jessica while this was going on.” | AARP