Funny, Unique or Strange News Items

[ardilla secreta]

This is crazy, Sully's got nothing on this truck driver, wow.
Landing gear failure of some sort, I guess.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1127337401203131/?s=ifu

Sorry DMac, I remember this was an old commercial from about 10 years ago. I don’t remember what kind of truck but they were pretty creative.

Toyota

[Brooklyn]

unique news - skeleton restored:


https://www.fox7austin.com/news/12-foot ... stin-texas



https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/6 ... in(1480,0)

[Brooklyn]

https://youtu.be/N2vNgRrkUTk


LOL!

[Farfromgeneva]

Rare Gold Coins Reveal New Roman Emperor

Research indicates that gold pieces unearthed centuries ago and long deemed fake are authentic Roman coins

Aylin WoodwardNov. 23, 2022 2:00 pm ET

“The coins are the only evidence that he existed,” Paul Pearson, a University College London professorial research associate, said of Sponsian, the man depicted on the coin. “There’s no historical written evidence at all. It’s a real thrill to sort of bring somebody back from obscurity.”

The research, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, suggests that the coins date to the third century and rules out the idea that they are 18th-century fakes, Dr. Pearson added. He is lead author of the new study.

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The coins were said to have been discovered in 1713 in the Transylvanian mountains of present-day Romania and found their way into several European collections in ensuing decades. By 1782, four had come into the hands of a Scottish collector who later bequeathed them to the University of Glasgow, where the coins have remained ever since.


Researchers Paul Pearson and Jesper Ericsson look at the Sponsian gold coin under a microscope.Photo: The Hunterian/University of Glasgow.
Dr. Pearson’s team, including researchers from the university, compared the coins—including one about the size of a quarter bearing Sponsian’s name and likeness—to ancient Roman coins known to be authentic. Close examination with microscopes, ultraviolet imaging and infrared spectroscopy—a technique that shows how an object absorbs and reflects light—revealed that they all bore similar patterns of microscopic wear.

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A chemical analysis of small patches of dirt on the surfaces of the coins found in Romania showed that they had been buried for a prolonged period after acquiring the wear patterns. An analysis of dirt from the reference coins showed similar results.

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How do the findings about the gold coins change your understanding of ancient Rome? Join the conversation below.

The researchers called this finding compelling evidence that the coins were authentic—the wear shows they were handled in countless transactions over an extended time period before being buried. “They were used as a part of a monetary economy,” Dr. Pearson said.

He and his colleagues hypothesize that Sponsian oversaw the minting of coins in the region, then known as Dacia, to pay soldiers and officials after the province was cut off from the rest of the empire around the year 260. At the time, Rome was racked by civil war. For the next decade or so, communication between Dacia and authorities in Rome would have been impossible, Dr. Pearson said, adding that Sponsian was likely an army officer who declared himself emperor to solidify authority at a time of crisis.

“Striking coins with your face on them is a massive public statement of your independent authority and your right to rule,” said George Green, a University of Oxford research fellow in Roman archaeology and an expert in ancient gold. “They’re circulating monuments. When you see the images, they’re a reminder of the truth of the fact that you’re the emperor,” he said.

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Dr. Green, who wasn’t involved in the research, said the conclusion that the coins are authentic is “a really legitimate hypothesis” but not proof. He called for additional validations of their authenticity. One possibility, he said, would be to examine whether the metal used to make the coins matches metal from mines known to have operated in Dacia during ancient times.


The Sponsian coin is about the size of a quarter, though thicker and heavier.Photo: The Hunterian/University of Glasgow
The research upends the work of a 19th-century French coin expert named Henry Cohen, who concluded in 1868 that the coins were “ridiculously imagined modern fakes” and excluded them from his catalog of ancient Roman coins.

Coins in ancient Rome were typically made by striking blank pieces of metal with stamps known as dies, according to Dr. Green. But the coins found in Romania were made by pouring molten metal into molds—a technique known as casting that was commonly used by historical forgers. That fact, Sponsian’s absence from written records and the coins’ crude workmanship—some of the engravings were bungled—led skeptics to conclude that the coins were fakes made to dazzle unsuspecting collectors.

“There was a huge collecting market amongst the rich elite in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries,” Dr. Green said. “Forgers would cast fakes in the hope of getting past these people collecting cabinets of curiosities.”

[Brooklyn]

Precious moment between sister and baby brother



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpxzS46wv5Q

[Brooklyn]

Top 5 Crows Video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mwTQV1KBMs

[Brooklyn]

statue of traitor Robert E Lee to be replaced by that of Henrietta Lacks:


https://www.phillytrib.com/news/across_ ... l#comments


So good to have someone honored since contributed so much to the advancement of science thereby saving lives. By contrast, Lee was a traitor who deserved the hanging tree.

[44WeWantMore]

Any number of Caesars or sophomoric readers of Machiavelli would have chosen the hanging tree route. We are all grateful that Lincoln was both better and wiser than that.

[Brooklyn]

Any number of Caesars or sophomoric readers of Machiavelli would have chosen the hanging tree route. We are all grateful that Lincoln was both better and wiser than that.

https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes ... -29-39.jpg


Lincoln's kindnesses cost him his life. As for me, unlike him or you, I would have said, BRING ON THE HANGMAN!

[Brooklyn]

We had a recent fire in our building. Thankfully, only 1 apartment had any fire damage. However, several apartments (including mine) did have water damage. It left a big mess of dark water but no real damage except for some old personal bank records that got soaked. Will put them to the shredder later on.

In sorting through my records I was surprised to see that I had not thrown out my diary completely as I had thought. Evidently I forgot to discard volume VII and VIII. Rather than throw them away I sifted through some of the things I wrote. I just cannot believe how much shtt I went through such as job searches, ball games, museum visits, records I bought or old movies I watched, books I've read and forgotten, funeral announcements, and people I met. I had forgotten that I used to listen to the Grateful Dead Hour every week. Sadly, it is not played locally anymore. Time sure does go by. Not sure if I should also discard these two volumes. Mebbe some day. Who knows?

[Brooklyn]

NYC subway surfers:


https://youtu.be/qIDCON-Tjl8

[Brooklyn]

The Jim Boeheim era:



https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/


https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketba ... tting.html

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/coll ... 987871007/



Like him or not, Jim Boeheim should never have been forced to give up well earned victories because of some insignificant "scandal". By contrast crooked Joe Paterno got a minor pat on the wrist and a big kiss on the ass though he deserved jail time for attempting to cover up for perverted Jerry Sandusky. Coach JB was one of the best of all time. He loved the school, the community, and the players. Awesome human being. It was great to see him coach for all those years.

[Brooklyn]

Boston Dad with some good advice over seasonal adjustments:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYIPBcB ... eBostonDad

[Brooklyn]

Top Ten Signs You're At a Republican Seder




https://images.dailykos.com/images/1175 ... 1680440224




LOL!

[Brooklyn]

I watched the 9th grade softball season opener between Humboldt & Harding High schools today. The game started out with a first inning triple play. In all my years of watching baseball & softball, this is the first time I've ever been to a season opener that started out in that most unusual way.

Wow!

[Brooklyn]

In today's news there was a lot of stuff going on about the latest coronation in Pommy Land. I've had plenty of British pals over the years and genuinely like the people there. But for the life of me, I cannot understand their fascination with what they call royalty. As for me, I will always believe that all men/women are created equal and will never bow before anyone. Evidently, there are quite a few Brits who feel the same way:









https://www.buzzfeed.com/larryfitzmauri ... est-photos



Power to the people!

[Brooklyn]

Unique news from the Far West:


Swastika Mountain is renamed Mount Halo in honor of a historical tribal leader

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/09/11748371 ... mount-halo


A lesser-known peak in western Oregon's Umpqua National Forest was renamed Mount Halo after residents suggested a change to the moniker.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved the change for Swastika Mountain on April 13. The new title, Mount Halo, pays tribute to Chief Halito of the Yoncalla Kalapuya tribe.

The mountain, which stands just shy of 4,200-feet in elevation, made headlines twice in 2022: first on the state and local level when two missing teens were rescued there by a Coast Guard helicopter on New Year's Day; and nationally when 81-year-old Joyce McClain petitioned to have the peak renamed last summer.

She contacted the Oregon Historical Society and its Oregon Geographic Names Board to propose the name be changed to Umpqua Mountain, according to McClain's proposal. She said that when Mount Halo was proposed, she felt it was a better fit and withdrew her submission.

The former name has no ties to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly known as the Nazi Party, that governed during World War II. Kerry Tymchuk, executive secretary at the historical society, told NPR last summer that the mountain, as well as the now-extinct town of Swastika, were named after a cattle ranch of the same name in the early 1900s, before Adolf Hitler and his party rose to power.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum says the symbol — which the ranch used for branding cattle — dates as far back as 7,000 years and means "good fortune" or "well-being" in Sanskrit. However, in the early 20th century, the marker came to symbolize German nationalists and Hitler's Nazi Party.

The mountain's new name was approved in a 19-3 vote during an Oregon Geographic Names Board meeting in December, according to the meeting's minutes, and was made official by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in mid-April.

McClain said she knows the mountain's name had innocent origins, and that some people aren't fans of swapping out historical names, but she felt Swastika was no longer appropriate and needed to change. Looking back on it all, she's happy she saw the whole thing through.

"I was glad I could do this," McClain told NPR. "One person can really make a difference. People don't think so, but this proves that one person can, no matter who they are."




Swastika was used in the South West by Indigenous Americans long before the Europeans came. It symbolized healing in ceremonies and rituals. But it is universal as many European and Asian cultures used it as well. Sad that a symbol meant for peace and regeneration was later used for warmongering and other evils. Good of these folks to alter the name but what perplexes me is why it has taken this long for them to do so.

[44WeWantMore]

Maybe Indians (both kinds) might feel that a centuries-later Western appropriation of their independently-developed symbol should not erase their prior art.

[Brooklyn]

Maybe Indians (both kinds) might feel that a centuries-later Western appropriation of their independently-developed symbol should not erase their prior art.

The shatkona (more commonly known as the star of David) was also appropriated from India. I don't believe they mind that very much.

[Brooklyn]

Cow on the loose!



https://www.13abc.com/video/2023/05/22/ ... -michigan/