Weird News

[Happy Monkey]

Sounds like there's a quality control issue with that button. "Can't get frozen shut" seems like it should be pretty high on the list of requirements.

[DanaC]

Yeh man. Bit of a design flaw, that.

[Gravdigr]

Maintenance. Cleaning.

Ever seen a stock room? Cluttered, crowded. I've long thought walk-in cooler/freezer doors should open to the inside, like a tornado/bomb shelter.

[Carruthers]

An object is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
That said, I still think it's weird that anyone would pay £575,000 for a teapot with a broken handle and no lid.
Would those wishing to accuse me of philistinism please form an orderly queue.

Broken teapot bought for £15 ($21) sells for £575,000 ($803,000)

Your old, cracked second-hand crockery could be worth more than you think.

A broken teapot bought for £15 has sold at auction for £575,000, after it was discovered to be one of the first ever made in America.

A private collector from the south-west of England bought the teapot, which had a broken handle and was missing its lid, at a general auction in the Midlands in 2016.

It was thought to be Isleworth pottery, which was made in a factory in Middlesex between 1766 and 1800, but the buyer had doubts.

He took the piece to Clare Dunham, an expert at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers in Salisbury, who identified the vessel’s distinctive blue and white palm tree design as the work of Staffordshire potter John Bartlam.

Mr Bartlam left England in around 1763 to set up business in South Carolina. England’s export trade with America was booming and he believed he could save on transportation costs by producing pottery in the US.
He became the first known manufacturer of American porcelain.

Experts said it was the seventh recorded piece of Bartlam porcelain to come to market and the only known Bartlam teapot, making it the earliest American-manufactured teapot to have been discovered.

It was offered for sale with a starting price of £10,000 and was expected to reach as much as £50,000. But the hammer came down at £460,000 and with fees added on, the teapot was sold for £575,000.

A London dealer bidding on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Rod Jellicoe, bought the teapot.

The Independent.

[glatt]

I see the Met bought it.

[Gravdigr]

That's the stupidest thing I've seen since I looked in the mirror.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers said the the teapot had “caught the imagination of many” and it was “absolutely delighted” about the sale.

I'm sure the $160,740.10 in fees added to their delight.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I'm sure the $160,740.10 in fees added to their delight.

Money does tend to colour your judgement.

Unfortunately, I've never been put to that particular test.

[DanaC]

making it the earliest American-manufactured teapot to have been discovered.

To be fair - that is pretty groovy

[Carruthers]

Self-taught rocket scientist propels himself 1,875 feet

LOS ANGELES -

A self-taught rocket scientist who believes the Earth is flat propelled himself about 1,875 feet into the air in his homemade vessel before a hard landing in the Mojave Desert that left him slightly bruised.
"Mad" Mike Hughes told The Associated Press he hurt his back but is otherwise fine and was "relieved" after Saturday's launch near Amboy, California.
The launch in the desert town - about 200 miles (321.85 kilometers) east of Los Angeles - was originally scheduled for November.
It was scrubbed several times after mechanical and logistical issues with the Bureau of Land Management.
The 61-year-old limo driver converted a mobile home into a ramp and modified it to launch from a vertical angle.
For months he's been working on overhauling his rocket in his garage.

I've no wish to dampen this chap's scientific curiosity, but wouldn't it be easier if he just went for a walk and looked over the edge?

khq.com

[xoxoxoBruce]

"The Flat Earth Society has members all around the globe."
Still a remarkable achievement even if stupid dangerous.

[Rhianne]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

I've no wish to dampen this chap's scientific curiosity, but wouldn't it be easier if he just went for a walk and looked over the edge?

khq.com

Not only is the Earth flat but also very, very hard.

Sadly, Mike's latest attempt was not so successful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51602655

[fargon]

Here is the story from NBC.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...&ICID=ref_fark

[tw]

A lot simpler would have been the window seat on a Transcontinental airliner.

Why would he even try to prove the earth is flat? The whole point of that society is to know something without trying to prove it. Will they now kick him out of the society for trying to prove it?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by fargon

Here is the story from NBC.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...&ICID=ref_fark

"Am I glad I did it? Yeah. I guess. I'll feel it in the morning. I won't be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight."

Well that explains it... CATS!