Wine from Water

Divers have found bottles of champagne some 230 years old on the bottom of the Baltic which a wine expert described on Saturday as tasting “fabulous”.

Thought to be premium brand Veuve Clicquot, the 30 bottles discovered perfectly preserved at a depth of 180 feet could have been in a consignment sent by France’s King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court.

If confirmed, it would be by far the oldest champagne still drinkable in the world, thanks to the ideal conditions of cold and darkness. “We have contacted (makers) Moet & Chandon and they are 98 per cent certain it is Veuve Clicquot,” Christian Ekstroem, the head of the div

ing team, told AFP. "There is an anchor on the cork and they told me they are the only ones to have used this sign," he added.

The group of seven Swedish divers made their find on July 6 off the Finnish Aaland island, mid-way between Sweden and Finland, near the remains of a sailing vessel.

"Visibility was very bad, hardly a metre," Ekstroem said. "We couldn't find the name of the ship, or the bell, so I brought a bottle up to try to date it." The hand-made bottle bore no label, while the cork was marked Juclar, from its origin in Andorra.

According to records, Veuve Clicquot was first produced in 1772, but the first bottles were laid down for ten years. "So it can't be before 1782, and it can't be after 1788-89, when the French Revolution disrupted production," Ekstroem said.

The 230-year-old bottles of Veuve Clicquot (seen here in modern form) could fetch an auction price of "several million" dollars if proven to be King Louis XVI's wine.

Hairy Treat

A jam made from Princess Diana's hair was sold out within days for about $7 a pot. Makers Bompas and Parr created the preserve for a surrealist exhibition at London's Barbican Exibition. The controversial conserve uses a speck of her hair purchased from a US dealer on eBay, the Daily Express reported on its website on Sunday. The jam could soon hit supermarket shelves after top retailers showed an interest in stocking it. Sam Bompas, who founded the catering company with school friend Henry Parr three years ago, said: "The milk jam takes a speck of Princess Diana's hair and infuses it in gin before it is turned into jam"

Unique Exemption

The Terrafugia Transition, a light aircraft that can convert into a road-legal automobile, is to go into production after being given a special weight exemption by the US Federal Aviation Administration. 
he Transition was designed as a "light sport" aircraft, the smallest kind of private aeroplane under FAA classification, with a maximum weight of 1,320lb. But the manufacturers found it impossible to fit the safety features - airbags, crumple zones and roll cage, for instance - that are required for road vehicles of that weight. Uniquely, however, the FAA has granted the Transition an exemption - allowing it to be classified as a light sport aircraft despite being 120lb over the limit.
Light sport aircraft licences require just 20 hours' flying time, making them much easier to obtain than full private licences.
The two-seater Transition can use its front-wheel drive on roads at ordinary highway speeds, with wings folded, at a respectable 30 miles per gallon. Once it has arrived at a suitable take-off spot - an airport, or adequately sized piece of flat private land - it can fold down the wings, engage its rear-facing propellor, and take off. The folding wings are electrically powered.
Its cruising speed in the air is 115mph, it has a range of 460 miles, and it can carry 450lb. It requires a 1,700-foot (one-third of a mile) runway to take off and can fit in a standard garage.
Terrafugia says that one of the major advantages of the Transition over ordinary light aircraft is safety - in the event of inclement weather, it can simply drive home instead of either being grounded or flying in unsafe conditions.
The company says that 70 people have ordered the car, leaving a $10,000 (£6,650) deposit each. The car is expected to retail at $194,000 (£129,000). Deposits are held in escrow, meaning that should the company go bankrupt before delivery, the money will be refunded.

King Coin

A Spanish precious metals trading company bought the world's largest gold coin for 3.27 million euros, its exact material worth, from the estate of an insolvent investment firm at a rare auction in Vienna on Friday.

The 100 kg (220.5 lb) piece, one of only five Canadian $1,000,000 Maple Leaf coins the Royal Canadian Mint has ever produced, was snapped up immediately in a written bid from ORO direct, a gold trading company based in Madrid.

The auction was ordered by the administrator of Austrian investment group AvW Invest, which filed for insolvency in May after its owner and chief executive was arrested on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust and other charges.
AvW had acquired the coin in 2007, joining an exclusive club of owners including Queen Elizabeth, who is also displayed on one side of the coin, two unidentified investors in Dubai and one who is so reclusive even his or her residence is unknown.
AvW had lent its coin, 53 cm (21 inches) in diameter and 3 cm thick, to Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum where it had been on display as part of its coin collection.
Its purity is 99.999 percent, the purest type in the market.
bi The Royal Canadian Mint launched the coin in 2007 to showcase its production facilities and steal the entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's biggest gold coin.

Power to a flower

Britain's rarest wild flower is to be protected by extra police patrols and possibly even CCTV in an attempt to stop it being stolen when it flowers this month.

The Lady's Slipper orchid at Silverdale Golf Course in Carnfoth, Lancashire, is the last remaining flowering plant in the country. Cuttings from the plant can be sold to collectors for up to £5,000.

Although experts have tried to re-introduce the purple and yellow bloom in other areas, none of them have flowered.

Lancashire Police is now mounting a three-pronged defence of the flower amid concerns thieves may strike in May or June when the plant flowers.

Officers have been ordered to 'ensure the safety' of the orchid by including it in their routine foot patrols, meaning they will pass it every hour or so. Police will also tag the 100-year-old orchid with a coded security mark so that anyone who tries to sell a cutting to wildflower collectors can be caught.The orchid has been given a unique log number on the police computer system - which will alert the duty officer whenever a report concerning the flower is received.  The force is also considering spending thousands of pounds on CCTV cameras to keep a 24-hour watch on the orchid, which is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

PC Tony Marsh, beat manager for the area, told Police Review: "We will be doing passing patrols, putting up deterrent notices, warning people about the offences and (asking them) to report any suspicious activity."

Last June a thief took a cutting from the plant, leaving it with just six flowers, and in 2004 a collector tried to dig up the entire plant by its roots, but managed to get away with just a part of the plant.

PC Marsh added: "The biggest threat is collectors. When flowers were taken last year, we think purely just to press and put in a book, the value on the crime report was thousands of pounds." PC Marsh has even circled the rare orchid with police crime scene tape in a bid to deter potential thieves.

PC Duncan Thomas, wildlife officer for Lancashire Constabulary, said the orchid - whose Latin name is Cypripedium calceolus - was "incredibly important". He said: "The Lady Slipper orchid is an incredibly important plant, having survived for over a hundred years when all other plants were thought extinct. It is iconic to many people who enjoy wildlife in Britain. People travel from all ends of the country on what is almost a pilgrimage to view the plant in bloom and are often overcome with emotion at the sight.We have been monitoring this amazing plant for a number of years and you can't help being impressed by not only its rarity but the incredible display when flowering. Sadly there are persons who will seek to steal it and as such we are working with Natural England staff to ensure its continued success."

Rob Petley-Jones, of English Nature, said: "It is completely illegal to even touch this plant, you would need a special licence for it."

Minimal Million

Childen who were expecting a new £70,000 playground complete with swings and slides have been left "devastated" after the council gave them a pile of concrete blocks instead.The "minimalist" design at Diamond Hall Pocket Park includes a variety of rectangular grey concrete blocks, described by Sunderland Council as "play features".
Parents had been expecting a traditional playground after they had been sent a leaflet on the plans which showed images of a climbing frame and swings.
Instead they have been left with the task of telling their children how best to play on the new blocks.
The park, in Millfield, has been given a makeover with money from a £2.5million Play Pathfinder grant awarded to Wearside.
Saacha Thompson, 34, said she had a hard time explaining to her three-year-old daughter Imogen that the park was finished. “When they said they had £2.5million for all the parks in Sunderland I think we were expecting something really good. But it looks like they spent about £200 on it,” she said.
Adele Hopper, 24, said her three-year-old son was devastated when she told him the play park was finished. “He was really upset at first. I was surprised to find out the park was finished. It didn't look finished. I thought they would put stuff on top of the concrete blocks”, she said.
However, the council said the concept for the playground was agreed after consultation with the community. Julie Gray, Head of Community Services, said: “The design of the park was the result of extensive public consultation, with the local community and councillors asked to give their views at a number of events on the layout of the park and what kind of equipment they would like to see installed.
“This design also includes a CCTV camera being installed to help maintain a safe and secure playing environment.”

Wahsington's Fines

Librarians in New York’s oldest library have discovered that George Washington, the first president of the United States, has an unpaid fine of $300,000. Washington failed to return two books in 1789, which have been accruing overdue fees. He was supposed to return the books after a month, but failed to do so. “We’re not actively pursuing the fines,” said Mark Bartlett, the head librarian of the library. The former president, who died in December 1799, borrowed two books from what was then the only library in Manhattan – “Law of Nations,” a dissertation on international relations, and a volume of debate transcripts from Britain’s House of Commons.

"Elephant" Emerald

Gemstone producer Gemfields has announced the discovery of an "exceptional" 6,225 carat rough emerald in its Kagem mine in Zambia. The emerald was recovered during normal mining operations on February 5, the company said in a statement, and is being examined by Gemfields' experts to establish a clearer understanding of its value and significance. The emerald has been named "Insofu" (which means "elephant" in the language of the Bemba people of the region) due to its size and in honor of the World Land Trust's "Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project", of which Gemfields is a participant.

Amfibus

 A new vehicle the people of Holland will be getting familiar with is the amfibus.  This is a vehicle which will not be stopped by the rivers of the country. The £700,000 which is approx 797,600 euros or $1 million `amfibus' is designed to operate on water and roads, and on the River Clyde. It is built to connect to communities living on the banks of the river.

Low fat house

Skinniest house in Britain up for sale at £550,000 At just 66 inches wide, this house has been dubbed the `skinniest home in Britain', but its price is anything but small at more than half a million pounds. Estate agents are using the property's unusual size as its selling point, and have put it on the market at £549,950. The house on Goldhawk Road in Shepherd's Bush, west London, has five levels -a lower ground, ground, first, second and third floor, with 1,000 sq ft of space. It looks set to record a good price as a shortage of stock across London and low interest rates continue to drive prices up. The advertised price is £61,450 more than what it was sold for three years ago.

Mega Lottery

Two British ticket holders have become the country's biggest lottery winners after scooping a whopping £45,570,835.50 each in the latest EuroMillions draw. The only two winning tickets for the massive £91 million jackpot were bought in the UK so each ticket holder will get half the winnings, smashing the previous record of the highest lottery payout in the UK which previously was £35.4 million. The holders of the winning tickets now have 179 days to claim their prize and make this an official record in England.
In May this year a 25-year-old Spanish woman broke the world record of the highest lottery payout by becoming the biggest EuroMillions, ever, winner when she won £110 million.

Hitler help

A council in Austria is attempting to block the sale of the house where Adolf Hitler was born over fears it could fall into the hands of neo-Nazis who would turn it into a shrine to his memory and again propagate his ideals. The owner of the house in Braunau-am-Inn wants to put it on the market with a likely asking price of over £2million. But there is not enough money in the town coffers to buy the property and the council plans to appeal to the government. Hitler was born in the house on April 20, 1889. His mother Klara and father Alois, rent ed a suite of rooms above the pub and lived in the apartment until 1892 when they moved to Linz.

German fake

A portrait of a young woman thought to be created by a 19th century German artist and sold two years ago for about $19,000 is now being attributed by art experts to Leonardo Da Vinci and valued at more than $150 million.The unsigned chalk, ink and pencil drawing, known as "La Bella Principessa," was matched to Leonardo via a technique more suited to a crime lab than an art studio -- a fingerprint and palm print found on the 13 1/2-inch-by-10-inch work.
Peter Paul Biro, a Montreal-based forensic art expert, said the print of an index or middle finger matched a fingerprint found on Leonardo's "St. Jerome" in the Vatican. Technical, stylistic and material composition evidence, including carbon dating, had art ex perts believing as early as last year that they had found another work by the creator of the "Mona Lisa."The discovery of the finger print convinced the work was by Leonardo, whose myth and mystery put him at the centre of best-sellers as "The Da Vin ci Code" and "The Lost - Symbol."
Biro examined multispec tral images of the drawing taken by the Lumiere Tech nology laboratory in Paris, which used a special digital , scanner to show successive layers of the work so as to not damage the painting.