[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
THURSDAY JUNE 8
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Crocodile found to have made herself pregnant

The first case of a crocodile who made herself pregnant has been identified at a zoo in Costa Rica.

She produced a foetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to herself.

The phenomenon of so-called "virgin birth" has been found in species of birds, fish and other reptiles, but never before in crocodiles.

The scientists say the trait might be inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also have been capable of self-reproduction.

The egg was laid by an 18-year-old female American crocodile in Parque Reptilania. The foetus inside was fully formed but stillborn and so did not hatch.

The crocodile who laid the egg was obtained when she was two years old and was kept apart from other crocodiles for its entire life. Because of this, the park's scientific team contacted a US team from Virginia Polytechnic, which specialised in virgin births, known scientifically as parthenogenesis.

They analysed the foetus and found that it was more than 99.9 % genetically identical to its mother - confirming that it had no father.


''Virgin births'' in crocodiles may be common, say the researchers.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the researchers say that virgin births may be more common in crocodiles, and have gone unnoticed until now because people have not been looking for instances of them.

"It is not uncommon for captive reptiles to lay clutches of eggs, given the period of isolation from mates, these would normally be considered non-viable and discarded. These findings therefore suggest that eggs should be assessed for potential viability when males are absent," the scientists say in their research paper.

"Furthermore, given that (virgin births) can occur in the presence of potential mates, instances of this may be missed when reproduction occurs in females co-habited with males".

It is unclear why parthenogenesis occurs in different species, but occurrences are cropping up in the scientific literature more often, probably because researchers are now looking for it. One theory is that it happens in species capable of parthenogenesis when numbers dwindle, and they are on the verge of extinction.

"This new evidence offers tantalizing insights into the possible reproductive capabilities of extinct relatives of crocodiles," write the scientists, "notably the dinosaurs".

[goldie0608]

Magician Performs Tricks for Shelter Dogs So Their Enthusiastic Reactions get Them Adopted



John Stessel normally performs his A-list magic show to adoring fans and celebrities, but he has found another, equally enthusiastic audience for his tricks.

Stessel routinely performs now for shelter dogs at the St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey, where their adorable reactions help to get them adopted.

Reactions to magic? Yeah, dogs are smart, and making treats and toys disappear before their eyes evidently leaves them flabergasted and determined to find out the secret.

“One of my small little superpowers is I can just help dogs show off in a way that they couldnt without me,” Stessel told Inside Edition. “Typically in the video the dogs just go nuts and they all have really different reactions.”

Stessel must take 4-5 antihistamines because, as it hapens, he’s frighteningly allergic to dogs. Hives are a common sight on set.

His work pays off, and most of the dogs in the video below have gone on to find permanent homes and loving families.

[Fatima99]

Thrilled dog says yes to owner's proposal before girlfriend can get a word in edgeways



A wedding proposal is a very personal thing, and many couples will have their own ideas of what their perfect one will be. Some may opt for an intimate affair with no one around, while others dream of a huge, public declaration of love.

One man thought he'd nailed the proposal of his now-fiancée's dreams when he decided to pop the question while walking their dog along the beach last month.

However, it didn't all go to plan as their adorable pooch managed to steal the limelight during the proposal – leaping up to 'accept' the ring before the giggling owner had a chance to get a word in edgeways.



Vicky Jones wasn't expecting her then-boyfriend Josh Stewart, both 33, to drop to one knee while on a beach walk with their Dalmatian-cross Breeze, and before she had a chance to reply, the over-excited pooch leapt onto her back legs towards the ring to say 'yes' on her behalf.

Vicky, from Plymouth, Devon, said: "The proposal was very unexpected. Apparently, he was planning it for a couple of months and everyone knew apart from me.

"When he asked the question I said yes, but obviously the dog said yes before me. Apparently, dogs sense things before humans so [she was right]."

The 11-year-old attention-loving hound didn't stop there, she also photobombed the couple's engagement snaps, which they now love looking back at.

The bride-to-be was too absorbed in the moment to notice the rescue-dog's boisterous behaviour, but after looking back at the photos they had a good laugh.

Thinking back to the proposal, which took place on Toko Mouth Beach, Glenledi in New Zealand, Vicky said: "I was in shock and I was like, 'what's going on?' So the dog led the way in that situation.

"I don't know if she thought the ring was a stick or a treat, she's very food orientated.

"She jumped up as soon as he got down on one knee, she was so excited. I didn't recognise that the dog was there because I was so in the moment.

"But luckily it's so funny to look back at the pictures and see her playing the fool like she usually does.

"We just laughed so hard because it's something she'd always do. She's always the centre of attention."

Vicky, who has been in a relationship with merchandiser Josh for more than three years, said they are yet to set a date for the wedding, but she'd love for Breeze to be a ring bearer at the wedding.

She added: "As long as we have a treat at the end of the aisle, she'll definitely come to us. She loves the attention more than anything."

[HogwartsExpress]

‘Public nuisance’: New York sues Hyundai and Kia, alleging their cars are easy to steal

South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are being sued for causing a “public nuisance,” according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

New York City is accusing the two firms of failing to install devices that prevent cars from being stolen, after a social media challenge prompted young teens to steal vehicles off the street by hot wiring them using a USB cable.

A viral TikTok challenge started in 2021 and spurred a rise in thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars. Chicago saw a jump of 800% year-on-year in the theft of these cars for the month of August 2022, officials told CNBC at the time. Los Angeles officials also saw an 85% jump compared with the year before.

“In electing profits over safety and deviating from industry norms by not including engine immobilizers as a standard safety feature, Defendants created and maintained a public nuisance,” the city said in the filing made in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.

New York accused the two companies of enabling “this spiraling epidemic” of car thefts.

“This case is a clear example of what happens to public safety when car manufacturers choose not to include standard anti-theft technology in their cars,” the filing said. “Making sure cars are not easy to steal protects both property and the public by keeping dangerous drivers in stolen vehicles off the roads,” it said.

In response, Hyundai said it made immobilizers standard on all vehicles from November 2021 and had taken measures to reduce the threat of thefts. It also said it is communicating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to assist its customers.

Kia added that the company is working with law enforcement to combat “car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it,” and that it is “committed to supporting our customers and to vehicle security.”

Highlighting the companies’ “failure” to install an anti-theft device, the complaint accused them of having “opened the floodgates to vehicle theft, crime sprees, reckless driving, and public harm.”

Shares of South Korea’s largest automakers fell on Wednesday. Hyundai Motors slid by more than 2% while Kia Corp dropped by more than 5%.

Hyundai and Kia last month agreed to a $200 million consumer class-action lawsuit settlement, according to Reuters, which covered approximately 9 million car owners and included up to $145 million for out-of-pocket losses for customers.

‘Virtual explosion’ of thefts
New York City in its filing said that the thefts are still continuing, and that it is seeking “compensation for the economic losses,” without specifying an exact figure.

“In 2023, in comparison to past years, there has been a virtual explosion of thefts of Kias and Hyundais,” it said. Around 977 Hyundai and Kia vehicles were reported stolen in the first four months of the year, according to the filing.

“This represents a roughly 660% increase in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles as compared to those same months in 2022, when there were only 148 such thefts,” it said.

New York City joins a number of cities that took similar measures against the two automakers, including Baltimore, St. Louis, Milwaukee, San Diego and Seattle.

In a release, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott said in May: “These cost-cutting measures employed by Hyundai and Kia at the expense of public safety are unacceptable.”

source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/07/public-nuisance-hyundai-kia.html

A 6,000-Year-Old Slab of Carved Wood Predating Stonehenge Has Been Found in Berkshire, England




A crew of builders in Boxford, Berkshire, England stumbled upon a large chunk of carved oak over 6,000 years old while digging foundation trenches for a new building, Historic England announced Wednesday.

The ancient slice of decorative oak, which was carved 2,000 years before Stonehenge and more than 4,000 years before the Romans set foot on the British Isles, is believed to be the oldest piece of carved wood in Britain.

The wood, which measures just about three-feet-long, one-and-a-half feet wide, and half-an-inch thick, was found snuggly underground in a thick layer of peat, which impeccably preserved the wood.

Since its discovery, the Mesolithic piece of wood has undergone scientific analysis by experts at Historic England in partnership with scientists from the Nottingham tree-ring dating laboratory, and the Centre for Isotope Research at the university of Groningen.

Radiocarbon and tree ring dating on the slab give a 95% chance probability that the wood was carved between 4,640 BC and 4,605 BC, at the tail end of the Middle Stone Age when inhabitants of England roamed in hunter-gatherer communities and began using stone tools.

While the meaning behind the carvings on the wood remain a mystery, experts say they are similar to the decorations on the Shigir Idol – a 12,500-year-old wooden sculpture that was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia and is thought to be the oldest example of carved wood in the world.

Derek Fawcett, the owner of the land where the carved wood was found, will donate the artifact to the to the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury once scientific analysis is complete, Historic England said in a press release. The donation coincides with England’s Museum Week which this year runs from June 5-11.

“This is a really brilliant find…and a tangible link to humans who lived in this area long before any towns and villages had been created,” Janine Fox, curator at West Berkshire Museum, told Historic England.

[prokroustis]

RARE TEXTILES, BASKETRY AND CORDAGE DISCOVERED AT SUBMERGED NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT



Underwater archaeologists excavating at the submerged La Marmotta settlement near Rome, Italy, have uncovered textiles, basketry and cordage from the Early Neolithic Period.
La Marmotta was first discovered in 1989 beneath the waters of Lake Bracciano, a Circum-Alpine Lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio. The lake owes its origin to intense volcanic and tectonic activity, resulting in the collapse of the magma chamber that created a depressed area now occupied by the lake.

During the Early Neolithic Period, a lakeshore settlement was established which today lies approximately 300 metres from the modern shoreline, submerged at a depth of 11 metres.

Underwater surveys of the settlement have documented several thousand wooden piles or support posts on the lakebed; the spatial distribution of these piles permits the identification of a minimum of 13 house structures arranged parallel to one another on the Neolithic shore.

The archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological finds indicate a community practising a well-developed farming economy, with previous studies finding remains of goats, sheep, cattle, pigs and dogs, and several wild mammal species including red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), aurochs (Bos primigenius) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Excavations of the settlement is ongoing, and it is currently estimated that around 25 percent of the site has been explored. However, further investigation is required to accurately determine the complete extent of the remaining archaeological remains.

The potential cause for the abandonment of the settlement is believed to be linked to a rapid increase in the water level of the lake. Regardless of the exact reason, the inhabitants departed hastily, leaving behind their belongings, such as tools, food-preparation vessels, and even their canoes.

In a study published in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists have uncovered a rare assemblage of basketry, cordage and textile remains, and some of the tools used to manufacture them. According to the researchers: “The assemblage paints a more complete picture of the technological expertise of Neolithic societies and their ability to exploit and process plant materials to produce a wide range of crafts.”

The textile fragments are currently being analysed by a team from the University of Copenhagen which are believed to have been made using plant fibres. A closer examination using a binocular microscope indicates flax fibres, a common material used by ancient cultures for making textiles until the 19th century AD.

In total, 28 fragments of cord and two lengths of thread have also been identified, in addition to 43 fragments of basketry, some of which still contain food residue.

Further evidence of textile production is present by the discovery of 78 loom weights, three spindle whorls, and 34 complete or fragmented wooden tools that were likely used during weaving to ensure that each new weft thread was tightly packed down.

The study authors concluded: “The limited extent of the picture that we can usually reconstruct is made clear by the settlement of La Marmotta. Here, the excellent preservation of wooden structures and objects of various perishable materials creates a much fuller understanding of the technical complexity of these early farming societies, perhaps even pointing to the existence of craft specialists.”

[PennySerenade]

Wild Wolverine Spotted in California for Second Time In 100 Years



California was graced with a rare visitor!

A wolverine was spotted in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in May. According to a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the last wild wolverine spotted in the state was discovered over a decade ago.

Observed in Tahoe National Forest in February 2008, the previous wolverine was tracked by scientists for a decade after it was first documented. However, given the species’ typical lifespan of around 12 years, this new sighting is likely not the same wolverine as the creature in 2008, according to the June 1 release.

Before these two sightings, the most recent documentation of a wolverine in the state of California dates back to the 1920s, per the department.



“Because only two wolverines have been confirmed in California during the last 100 years, these latest detections are exciting,” Daniel Gammons, a senior environmental scientist at the department, stated in the release.

The new wolverine was documented through videos and photos taken by different individuals in different locations. According to the release, the wild animal was seen twice in the Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park.

Although not confirmed, the different May sightings are likely the same wolverine, the release states, because the species tends to travel great distances.

The department plans to collect genetic material from the wolverine's feeding sites to confirm that the recent sightings are all of the same animal in collaboration with both the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.



While they rarely pop up in California, wolverines are most common in Canada and Alaska, "with smaller populations in the Rocky and Cascade mountains." The animal is fully protected as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act, per the release.

The largest land-dwelling species in the weasel family, wolverines often look like small bears. California wolverine sightings can be reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife through its Wildlife Incident Reporting System.

[Misstee]

Three men swept out to sea on giant inflatable duck

By Ben Hooper




June 8 (UPI) -- Marine rescuers in England said a paddleboarder came to the assistance of three men who drifted out to sea on an inflatable duck.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Appledore station said volunteers were conducting training exercises Tuesday when they received word that three men who had floated away from Westward Ho! Beach on a giant inflatable duck.

A friend in a kayak attempted to push the duck to shore, but the unusual flotation device was soon more than 650 feet from shore.

The RNLI said rescuers were still on their way to the scene when a man on a paddleboard ventured out to tow the inflatable back to the beach.

The paddleboarder was able to bring the duck close enough to shore for the three men to jump out and return to the beach. The inflatable was then blown back out to sea.

The duck was retrieved by RNLI volunteers, who dubbed the inflatable "Quackers" and joked it was their new apprentice crew member.

"With the strong tides and off shore breezes of the Bristol Channel, Appledore RNLI urges people never to take an inflatable toy into the sea. There is no way to control these and they get pulled out from shore within seconds," the RNLI said.

[lush]

Man Wins 365 Days of Paid Leave in Exceptional Company Raffle
04132023*

A Chinese man has attracted the envy of his entire country after reportedly winning 365 days of paid leave in a generous raffle organized by his company.

In a viral video that has been circulating on Chinese social media for about a week, a young man can be seen sitting on a chair in what looks like a banquet hall and holding a large sign that reads “365 days of paid leave”. It wasn’t long before the footage drew the attention of mainstream news outlets who managed to identify the location shown in the video and thus the event that took place there. It turns out that this was recorded during the annual meeting held by a company in Shenzen whose management wanted to ease the tension of its employees by offering fun and enticing prizes in a raffle.



Ms Chen, an administrative employee of the unnamed company, told reporters that her employer hadn’t organized an annual meeting in three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it decided to relieve employees’ stress by holding a fun raffle, in which employees could win both prizes and fun penalties. For example, someone could be made to consume a ‘special homemade drink’ or ‘act as a waiter for their colleagues’ at the event, while prizes included one or two extra rest days, or a few more days of paid leave.

After discussing the idea with the boss, organizers of the annual meeting raffle decided to include a shockingly-generous raffle prize that would really catch everyone off-guard. And that’s how the ‘365 days of paid leave’ prize came to be. It was won by a young manager who can be seen carrying it in the viral video.

The unusual nature of the prize has left many Chinese workers in disbelief, for various reasons. Some said that they could only dream of winning a full year of paid leave, while others claimed that the prize was actually a disguised trap.



“Once you’re back from your vacation, the job won’t be yours anymore,” one person commented on Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin (TikTok), while someone else warned that this way the boss will “find out that the company is the same with or without you”. Others said that the winner would also miss out on potential bonuses and should kiss his chances of promotion goodbye by accepting the prize.

There were also those who dismissed the warnings, claiming that they would take the year of paid leave even if they risked getting fired immediately after.

“After a year, if I come back and feel that I can’t continue, I’ll change jobs,” someone wrote on Weibo.

Researchers Find a Megalodon Tooth Necklace in the Titanic Wreckage—But the Rare Object Will Probably Have to Stay at the Bottom of the Sea

Adam Schrader, June 7, 2023


A Megalodon tooth necklace from RMS Titanic wreckage was discovered after 111 years. Photo: Courtesy of Magellan.


Should we call this one the Mouth of the Ocean?


Was there a real-life Rose onboard the Titanic? Lovers of the 1997 film may be shocked by a new deep-sea discovery reminiscent of the “Heart of the Ocean.”

A gold necklace made from the tooth of a prehistoric shark called a Megalodon has been found in the wreckage of the Titanic amid a massive project to scan the site of the infamous 1912 shipwreck.

In the film, Rose—a Juliet-like young woman played by Kate Winslet—wears a fictional 56-carat blue diamond necklace purchased for her by her fiancé, which plays a prominent role in the film’s plot.

“Whilst the artifact found is not the same famous necklace—which was created for the film—the discovery of the Megalodon tooth necklace is poignant,” Magellan, a firm that specializes in offshore and ultra-deepwater surveying, said in a statement.
Images taken during Magellan’s massive investigation into the sunken luxury passenger liner picked up images of the Megaladon necklace, the company said.

The firm noted that members of the public are prevented from removing artifacts lost when the ship sank under an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, so Magellan team members are not allowed to touch the wreckage—and the incredible find may thus be lost at the bottom of the sea forever.

“In a bid to seek out the jewelry’s owner, Magellan is using artificial intelligence to contact the family members of the 2,200 passengers onboard the Titanic when it sank,” the company said.

Megalodons are known to have lived from 20 million years ago until they become extinct around 3.6 million years ago. They are estimated to have grown up to 18 meters in length, more than three times longer than modern great white sharks.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
FRIDAY JUNE 9
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[prokroustis]

PALAEOLITHIC PEOPLE USED SHELLS TO DECORATE THEIR BODIES



Archaeologists from the University of Cádiz have discovered that early humans used seashells and fresh water shells to decorate their bodies 25,000 to 30,000 years ago.
The discovery was made during excavations in the Cave of Ardales, also known as the Cueva de Doña Trinidad Grund, an important prehistoric site in the Andalusian municipality of Ardales, Spain.

The cave was first discovered in 1821 following an earthquake exposing the cave entrance, with ongoing research finding Neanderthal artistic representations from 66,000-years ago and Neolithic funerary deposits from 5,000-years-ago.

A recent study of the cave, led by the University of Cádiz, in collaboration with the Neanderthal Museum of Colonia, the University of Colonia and the Cueva de Ardales, has found 13 shells in the cave strata that date from between 25,000 and 30,000 years ago.

and 30,000 years ago.


Image Credit : University of Cádiz
According to the researchers, the shells were turned into decorative objects such as ornamental pendants as a body adornment. While the freshwater shells would have been found in local water sources, the seashells, namely molluscs, would have been transported over 50 kilometres from the coast.

Molluscs used as personal adornment in Gravettian context are scarce in the Iberian Peninsula. Less than 200 pieces have been barely found along the Mediterranean, and most of them in coastal sites.

Professor Juan Jesús Cantillo, from the University of Cádiz, said: ““it is unusual to find this type of marine remains in caves located so far inland and with such ancient chronologies. On the Mediterranean slope, only a little more than a hundred remains were known and all of them are located on the coast.”

According to the researchers, the results of the recent excavation and rock art from an earlier period suggest that the cave was used as a place for specialised symbolic activities during various phases of the Upper Palaeolithic.

I bought a $50 leather chair — and resold it for a whopping $100K



A TikToker bought a worn and torn leather chair for $50 from Facebook Marketplace, only to sell it at auction Wednesday for more than $100,000.

He’s sitting pretty with his latest find.

A TikToker bought a worn and torn leather chair for $50 from Facebook Marketplace, only to sell it at auction Wednesday for more than $100,000.

Justin Miller purchased the Frits Henningsen chair in February and detailed his lucrative restoration adventure on TikTok.

The LA-based home design content creator peruses Facebook Marketplace for cheap finds, researching the unique pieces he stumbles across.

“When I first saw the chair, I loved the color of leather, and I thought it had a really interesting shape, so I wanted to learn more about it,” Miller, 33, told The Post on Thursday.

Justin Miller purchased the Frits Henningsen chair in February and detailed his lucrative restoration adventure on TikTok.

He suspected the high-back wing chair would only be worth “a couple thousand” due to its “rough” condition — there were holes in the leather upholstery and discoloration.

“Since it was so rare and the leather was original, the condition didn’t seem to matter too much,” he reasoned.

The furniture fanatic forked over a meager $50 not knowing if it was a dupe.

Resellers often flock to thrift stores and consignment shops to snag deals before profiting off the valuables — but Miller had no clue he struck gold.

“This is truly just a once in a lifetime fluke, the stars definitely had to align a bit for this one, but I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of it,” Miller, who grew up watching “Antiques Roadshow,” told The Post.

He added: “I’d also like to think that I have a good eye for special items, too. But it was such a seamless process with Sotheby’s, they were such a pleasure to work with, and I can’t wait to do it again.”

He explained that the previous owners wanted to declutter and didn’t want to pursue the potential riches of the antique Danish chair, which is said to date back to around 1935.

Miller, on the other hand, did.

He contacted Sotheby’s, which estimated the chair would fetch $30,000 to $50,000 in the Important Design Auction this month.

But Miller got more than he bargained for: The lucky bidder coughed up a hammer price of $85,000 and an additional $22,000 later.

“CRAZY!” he wrote, in part, in a caption of a clip celebrating his big win.

After purchasing “something small” for himself, he told The Post he’s saving up for a down payment for a house.

“I can’t think of anything too exciting I want right now, so I will just put it in the bank,” he said.

Given his prior knowledge and later success at auction, some argued he “took advantage” of the couple who sold him the chair. Others, however, championed his gains.

“They posted it, you bought it. End of story! So happy for you!!!” one user wrote.
What do you think? Post a comment.

“I love the idea of a Beverly Hills garage sale. THAT is the definition of ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.’ My trash is trash,” quipped another.

“Imagine being able to pay that for a CHAIR! i have coldsweat [sic] every time i have to pay for my discount groceries,” someone else revealed.

https://nypost.com/2023/06/08/i-bought- ... ping-100k/

10-year-old girl survives more than 24 hours alone in the rugged Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family



Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.

Shunghla Mashwani was at a gathering with her extended family in the Cle Elum River Valley on Sunday when she became separated from the group as they crossed a pedestrian bridge over the river to eat lunch near the Cathedral Pass Trailhead, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. Kittitas County is about 85 miles east of Seattle.

The girl and her family arrived in the US two years ago from Afghanistan and like to spend time in the high backcountry because it reminds them of home, the sheriff’s office said.

“Shunghla told her family and rescuers she found herself suddenly separated and alone when the family was travelling back toward the footbridge and couldn’t find the bridge on her own,” the sheriff’s office said.

When the family noticed Shunghla hadn’t crossed the bridge with them, about 20 adults in the group went back and started searching, the post said.

There is no cell service in the area and the family had been looking for Shunghla for about two hours when a passerby offered to call police from a satellite phone at their nearby cabin around 2 p.m.

Deputies, volunteer ground search teams and crews from nearby law enforcement agencies swarmed the area. Drones, helicopters and K9s were also brought in to help find Shunghla.

The sheriff’s office had the girl’s father record a message of reassurance in their native language that was broadcast over the search area, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told CNN. The message told Shunghla that there were people looking for her and trying to help.

“The search area was steep, rugged, and remote, with dense trees and undergrowth cut through by the fast-running Cle Elum River,” the sheriff’s office said.

She was spotted around 3 p.m. Monday by two ground search volunteers about 1.5 miles south of where she was last seen, the sheriff’s office said. She had only minor scrapes.

“I was trying to go to sleep in the night and then wake up early in the morning, and then I’ll find my dad and mom in the forest,” Shunghla told CNN affiliate KING of her night in the wilderness.

“She hiked downstream through the dense forest and spent the cold night between some trees. She said she knew it was the right thing to follow the river. She proved an extraordinarily resourceful and resilient 10-year-old,” the sheriff’s office said.

Rescuers loaded Shunghla into an inflatable rescue boat and brought her across the river to be reunited with her father.