Cary Collings holds up his winnings. (Photo via Facebook)

It's better to be lucky than good. Just ask Cary Collings: He recently found himself with a high-scoring scratch-off ticket, and then, when he bought another, he had one worth even more—all in the same 24-hour period.

According to the Facebook page for Washington's Lottery, Collings' day started off on the right note when he won the $55,555 prize on a scratch-off ticket. Not a bad day's work, but Collings wasn't finished. On his way to cash in his ticket, he stopped at a store to buy some more. One of them ended up being worth $200,000.

Q13Fox.com reported that Collings, who lives in Puyallup, Wash., plans to use some of his winnings to pay off debts. He said he is undecided on what to do with the rest of his windfall but has no plans to quit his job.

While Collings' feat is extremely rare, he isn't the first person to win big more than once. Earlier this year, Stephen and Terri Weaver of Arkansas won a $1 million jackpot. Then, later that same weekend, they won an additional $50,000,

NASA's new class of astronauts. Top row (L-R): Josh A. Cassada, Victor J. Glover, Tyler N. Hague, Christina M. Hammock. Bottom Row (L-R): Nicole Aunapu Mann, Anne C. McClain, Jessica U. Meir, Andrew R. Morgan (photos: NASA)

NASA has picked eight new astronauts, half of them women, according to a press release from the space agency.

NASA said this was the "the highest percentage of female astronaut candidates ever selected for a class." The American space agency announced that the eight astronauts were chosen from among 6,100 applicants, the equivalent of a .0013 acceptance rate.

The AP reports there are currently 49 astronauts at NASA. The newly picked group of eight will begin their training in August at Houston's Johnson Space Center.

NASA's new hire announcement comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the late Sally Ride's historic mission as the first woman in space. Ride remains the youngest American in space, either male or female.

NASA stressed that it chooses its astronauts based only on skill. Jay Bolden, public affairs officer at NASA, told CNN: "We have great female candidates in the pool this year. The selection is about qualifications. It has nothing to do with their genders."

In a

Ambulance (Thinkstock)

Talk about above and beyond the call of duty.

A heroic New York City dispatcher spent a marathon eight hours on the phone with a stroke victim as rescuers attempted to locate her.

A story in the New York Post reports that EMT dispatcher Joann Hilman-Payne got a call from an ill Mary Thomas, and rescuers rushed to the woman's residence at East 71st Street. But the stroke victim was not there.

According to a letter of commendation written by EMT Capt. Philip Weiss praising Hilman-Payne, the dispatcher then struggled to communicate with the slurring Thomas to try to determine her location—and keep her conscious.

With the help of Verizon and the NYPD, firefighters checked several nearby addresses, but none proved to be right. Rescuers finally found Thomas at an East 72nd Street residence, where she had been working as a housekeeper.

She was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, according to the Post.

“Throughout the entirety, [Hilman-Payne] worked to keep the patient awake,