Scientists have used a new x-ray technique to produce spectacular 3D images of Roman coins that were corroded inside pots or blocks of soil. The rotating images built up from thousands of two-dimensional scans are so clear that individual coins can be identified and dated, without a single battered denarius …
Last week I was looking at a pile of smartphones I’d recently been given to review. The devices were virtually indistinguishable from one another. Slab after slab, no keyboards, no color. Just black blocks with shiny touch screens, maybe a few buttons dotted along the side. Some had fake metal …
An old vase that had been crudely turned into a lamp sold for £550,000 because it was a rare 15th century Chinese object from the Ming dynasty. The blue and white vase had a drill hole in the base that obscured the tell-tale six character mark of the Emperor Xuande. …
Actor R. Lee Ermey (“Full Metal Jacket”) is 68. Singer Nick Lowe is 63. Bassist Dougie Thomson of Supertramp is 61. Comedian Louie Anderson is 59. Actor Robert Carradine is 58. Actress Donna Pescow is 58. Actress Kelly LeBrock is 52. DJ Rodney “Kool Kollie” Terry of Ghostown DJs is …
Like any great military and political leader, Dwight Eisenhower had every right to expect that his likeness would one day be immortalised in bronze or marble and installed prominently in his nation’s capital. But that was before Frank Gehry came along. Instead of a traditional statue, the architect has designed …
(Reuters) – For years a bronze statue of Alfred Salter sat on a bench looking out on a quiet bend of the River Thames, a memorial to a doctor who dedicated his life to a London district once infamous for Dickensian levels of poverty and disease. Now the bench is …
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez paid tribute to 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar on Saturday by unveiling a new coffin containing Bolivar’s remains and adorned with gold, pearls and diamonds. Soldiers lifted a flag from the mahogany coffin during a ceremony marking the anniversary of Bolivar’s …
As the TSA “celebrates” its 10 year milepost, here’s a look back at some of its less than stellar moments. According to the logic employed by the folks at the Transportation Security Administration, the real threat to national security isn’t, say, a shifty Nigerian businessman scamming his way onto a …
The mayor of the coastal town of Huarmey in Peru told a crowd that he was concerned their tap water contained dangerously high levels of strontium — a metal which he claimed reduces male hormones, increasing the risk of homosexuality among those who drink it. Rumors of gay-making tap …
An amateur treasure hunter has discovered a “nationally significant” Viking hoard including hundreds of pieces of silver jewellery and coins. Darren Webster unearthed “the find of a lifetime” when his metal detector picked up a signal at an undisclosed location on the border of Cumbria with north Lancashire. He could …
‘Essex’ inspires British undie sales LONDON, Nov. 1 (UPI) — British fashion retailers are crediting ITV2 series “The Only Way is Essex” for rising sales of sexy lingerie. The Peacocks clothing chain said the reality TV program is inspiring girls to wear the typically night-time underwear during the day and …
It’s a TSA metal detector party, and your ugly footwear will soon be invited. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tells Politico’s Mike Allen that air travelers will soon be permitted to keep their shoes on during security checks: We are moving towards an intelligence and risk-based approach to how we …