Long overdue: A book was returned to a Washington library 81 years after it was checked out

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN

June 11, 2023


The person who originally checked out "The Bounty Trilogy" in 1942 would owe $484.80 in library fines today, according to the Aberdeen Timberland Library.

A library in western Washington state recently received a book so long overdue, World War II was happening when it was last checked out.

Brad Bitar returned a copy of “The Bounty Trilogy” by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall to the Aberdeen Timberland Library on Monday – way past its original due date in March 1942.

Bitar, who lives in Olympia, Washington, told CNN the book had been sitting in his garage for a couple of years before he returned it to its rightful home.

He did not know the person who had checked out the book 81 years ago and said they may have left it behind while visiting his family’s now-closed store in Hoquiam, Washington.

Bitar collects historical artifacts and found the book – which was published in 1932 – among the antique items left behind from the store, he said.

“My assumption was that the library was probably not going to be interested in taking it back,” Bitar said.


"The Bounty Trilogy" by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall was published in 1932, and according to the library card inside the cover, was due on March 30, 1942.

His assumption was far from correct.

“The person that accepted the book I think was really stunned and kind of couldn’t believe it,” Anna Lisa Rasmussen, social media specialist for the Timberland Regional Library system, told CNN.

The public library system, which includes Aberdeen Timberland Library, posted the unexpected return on social media.

“If overdue fines had accrued at the rate of $.02/day, barring holidays and Sundays as it outlines on the card, the patron would owe about $484.80,” Rasmussen wrote in the Instagram post’s caption.

But the person who last checked out the book wouldn’t have to worry about that hefty fine. The library stopped charging late fees in 2020 to remove financial barriers that prevent people from visiting, Rasmussen said.

The post about the book “has stirred up people saying, ‘I actually read that book recently, I really liked it,’ or, ‘I read that when I was a teenager,’” she said.

“The Bounty Trilogy” covers the events surrounding the mutiny on the British Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty, according to its Amazon description.

Bitar told CNN he checked the value of his copy of the trilogy online: It is worth at least $1,200 today, according to his findings.

However, the recently returned antique will “most likely” not be placed back into circulation, according to Rasmussen. “It definitely has shown its age,” she said.

Willie Nelson, country music legend, gets new species of grasshopper named after him



Country music legend Willie Nelson has received an unusual honor.

He's had a just-discovered species of grasshopper named after him.

Scientists discovered the flightless insect in Texas — where the veteran singer and actor was born 90 years ago.

Scientists say the central region of Texas is a known "hotspot" for biological wonders.

For the last five years, Dr. JoVonn Hill — a country music fan — and his colleagues have made scientific expeditions to the area. It's an area that's now revealed an extraordinary discovery, as SWNS and other outlets reported.

The team found seven previously unknown flightless grasshopper species — six of them endemic to the Edwards Plateau.
With this discovery, Dr. Hill paid tribute to Nelson and fellow country music icon Jerry Jeff Walker, who died in Texas in 2020 at age 78.

Hill — an assistant professor and director of the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) at Mississippi State University — named two of the flightless grasshopper species in recognition of the "immense contributions" of the two Texas legends.
"Melanoplus nelsoni and Melanoplus walkeri immortalize the enduring contributions of these legendary musicians and their connection to Texas," said Dr. Hill, according to SWNS.
"After these last few summers [of field studies], just like Mr. Nelson, we, too, have a little Texas in our souls."

Of Melanoplus walkeri, he said, "Walker’s songs such as ‘Hill Country Rain,’ ‘Leavin’ Texas,’ and ‘Sangria Wine’ brought me and my field team joy while traveling between field sites and added to the amazing ambiance of the Edwards Plateau."

The artist recorded his most influential album not far from the spot where the new species was discovered, according to reports.

The team also acknowledged the cultural heritage and deep connection to the region of the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes, naming two species of grasshopper after them as well, Melanoplus commanche and Melanoplus tonkawa, respectively.
Writing in the journal ZooKeys, a peer-reviewed open access journal, Dr. Hill said, "These designations recognize the profound historical and cultural significance of the tribes in the region."

Dr. Hill said the discovery of the seven flightless grasshopper species and the formation of a new species group underscore the "ecological uniqueness" of central Texas.

"These seven newly described species, alongside two pre-existing ones, form a cohesive species group, highlighting their shared characteristics and evolutionary relationships," he also said, as SWNS reported.

"The formation of this new species group presents a significant contribution to our understanding of the diverse ecosystems present in central Texas."
Dr. Hill holds a PhD in entomology in Mississippi State University and a master's degree in agriculture and life science, also from Mississippi State University.
He earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies (biology, wildlife science and forestry) at the same university.
His profile on the website of the Mississippi Entomological Museum says that he is "broadly interested in the biodiversity of the southeastern United States, especially that of natural grasslands in the region."
He notes further, "I consider myself both a taxon scientist and ecologist as most of my research entails documenting and describing the biogeography, diversity and ecology of the ant and grasshopper fauna of these habitats."

Fox News Digital reached out to Dr. Hill for additional comment.

"There is still a lot out in the world to discover," he said in an email.

[lush]

Man Spends 21 Hours on His Knees in Front of Ex-Girlfriend’s Workplace
04142023*

A young man from China’s Sichuan province spent over 20 hours kneeling in front of his ex-girlfriend’s workplace hoping to convince her to take him back.

A lovesick man became the talk of Chinese social media this month after spending almost 21 hours kneeling outside his ex-girlfriend’s workplace in Dazhou City. The man reportedly started the extreme attempt to get back into his ex’s good graces at 1 pm on March 28 and remained on his knees until 10 am the next day, braving the rain, the cold, and the curious stares of passers-by. At first, no one really paid attention to the lone man kneeling on the street with a bouquet of red roses next to him, but as the hours passed, people started noticing him and asking what he was doing. Before long, a crowd had formed around him.



“It’s not necessary to keep on kneeling. The girlfriend is not willing to show up but you are still here, losing face,” a man surnamed Li told the jilted lover, but he would not budge.

At one point, as the man didn’t seem to hear all the people begging him to end the self-inflicted torture, someone called the police to make him leave, but they didn’t fare much better.

“He said his girlfriend broke up with him a few days ago. He wants to seek her forgiveness and he hoped she could date him again,” one of the police officers told reporters.



“Is it illegal for me to kneel down here? If it is not illegal, please leave me alone,” the jilted man said when police tried to get him to get up and clear the street.

The South China Morning Post reported that the man reluctantly took his bouquet and “reluctantly” left, probably because he couldn’t endure the cold anymore.

It’s unclear why exactly the man’s girlfriend had broken up with him in the first place, or if she was even at her workplace during the 21 hours he spent on his knees, but, nevertheless, most people didn’t agree with the way he handled things.

“Why humiliate yourself? Just let her go,” someone commented.

“From this video, I understand why the ex-girlfriend had left him,” someone else wrote.

Poor fella. Unfortunate situation all around for the ex-gf.

[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
MONDAY JUNE 12
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

NOTE: THE RECAP AND REWARDS WILL BE DONE LATER

[ozswede]

Barbie Dreamhouse, movie set caused international pink paint shortage

Life may be fantastic when you’re plastic — but it can reap horrors on the global supply chain.

The production of the highly anticipated Barbie movie caused a very on-brand shortage, according to a new interview with the upcoming plastic doll biopic’s director.

“The world,” Greta Gerwig told Architectural Digest for a recent home profile of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, “ran out of pink.”


The Barbie set caused an international shortage.

Specifically, the film, set to star Aussie Margot Robbie in the leading role, ran out of a fluorescent shade of Rosco brand pink paint, which was used extensively on the film’s three-storey set at the Warner Bros. Studios lot just outside London, the Post reports.

In addition to being aggressively pink-coloured, the home of the “Barbie” protagonist is also not ideal for anyone who isn’t an exhibitionist.


Barbie looks out upon her kingdom.

“There are no walls and no doors,” the 39-year-old director told the publication. “Dreamhouses assume that you never have anything you wish was private — there is no place to hide.”

Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer also cite the midcentury-modern homes of Palm Springs as major influences on the live-action doll house. Even the movie’s surroundings, with palm trees and mountains in the distance, resemble the Southern California resort city.


A prime pink play set of a property.

Their final creation, where Barbie will call home in the film — set to hit cinemas on July 21 — features a walk-in wardrobe with toy-box outfit displays, a slide-equipped pool, and first-level living and dining rooms, among other amenities.

And while this may be the most realistic, Greenwood and Spencer are far from the first to make the miniature Mattel abode a reality — with Barbie fans across the world doing their DIY version for years.


The “Barbie Way Cul-de-Sac” set in the upcoming film.

One UK interior designer and fitness instructor converted her own “boring” beige crib into a “Barbie World” of her own, while a Brazilian TikTok creator spent almost $200,000 turning her property into a Barbie Dreamhouse.

[Fatima99]

Detection dogs taught newt tricks in bid to improve conservation



From terrorists to drug traffickers, detection dogs are trained to sniff out the most elusive of offenders. Now a springer spaniel called Freya has taken up the scent of another slippery species: the great crested newt.

Sheltering in underground burrows and rocky crevices, these warty amphibians are a protected species under rules overseen by Natural England. Boris Johnson previously complained that newt-counting delays had become “a massive drag on the prosperity of this country” because building developers must search for, and move them, before construction projects can begin.

Yet, while much is known about the newts’ aquatic life phase, detecting them during their terrestrial phase is challenging because they spend so much of their time underground, limiting the effectiveness of these conservation policies and practices.

Rising to this challenge, Nicola Jayne Glover, an ecology PhD student at the University of Salford, UK, and her colleagues trained Glover’s English springer spaniel, Freya, to learn the odour of live newts by channelling their scent through open pipes of varying lengths. They also put newts in breathable tubes and buried them under 20cm of clay or sandy soil for Freya to detect, with small ventilation holes in some of the soil samples to mimic newt nesting burrows.

Over 16 trial runs, Freya was able to detect great crested newts up to 2 metres away, with an 87% success rate. She was fastest at detecting newts through clay soil with ventilation, and could tell them apart from other creatures, including frogs and other newt species. When Freya sniffed out a great crested newt, she would signal this to her handler by lying or sitting down.

Although dogs have previously been trained to detect giant bullfrogs – which also occupy underground burrows – and are routinely used to help locate buried human remains, this is the first study which explicitly investigates the influence of different soil types on dogs’ ability to locate underground amphibians.

“Our study provides a general baseline for the use of detection dogs in locating T. cristatus and similar amphibian species during their terrestrial phase,” said Glover, whose results were published in Plos One.

She believes newt-identification is a task that many dogs could be trained to do, and has already trained her other dog, a springer-cocker spaniel named Newky, to do so. Freya and Newky have already saved the lives of countless newts, Glover said.

The great crested newt is the UK’s largest newt, reaching a maximum adult overall length of up to 17 m. It takes its name from the striking, jagged crest that males display in the spring breeding season.

Anyone found guilty of disturbing the newts’ resting places and breeding sites, or taking their eggs, faces an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison.

[prokroustis]

STONE GLYPH WITH SPIRAL REPRESENTATION FOUND BENEATH MEXICAN CHURCH



Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have uncovered a stone glyph with a spiral representation in the church of the Lateran Parish of San Pedro Apostol.
The church is located in the city of Zacapoaxtla in the Mexican state of Puebla, where experts from the INAH Puebla Centre were supervising floor levelling works in the church nave.

Very little archaeological evidence survives to build the historical founding of Zacapoaxtla, however, one reference records that in AD 1270, an eruption of the Apaxtepec volcano buried the town of Xaltetelli, possibly giving rise to Zacapoaloyan, now known as Zacapoaxtla.

The glyph dates from before the Spanish conquest when the region was inhabited by the Totonac and Nahua cultures, and may have been part of the façade of a pyramid platform with a symbolic association to water. Spirals have been used by many cultures across Mexico, most notably by the Aztecs, which used spirals to mimic natural forms such as water.

The discovery was made in the foundations of an early Christian hermitage and appears to have been symbolically placed under the hermitage’s altar.

The hermitage is likely the same recorded by contemporary chroniclers, whom describe how Jacinto Portillo, a Spanish conquistador, built the first hermitage at Zacapoaxtla in the 16th century, and would later become a missionary of the Order of Friars Minor of St. Francis, known as Fra Cintos.

Project supervisor, Alberto Diez Barroso, said: “the glyph contains the representation of a spiral and measures 40 centimetres tall by 16 centimetres wide, and still has the preserved stucco coating.”

Given the importance of the hermitage and stone glyph, the director of the INAH Puebla Centre, Manuel Villarruel Vázquez, is currently in discussions with the church parish with the aim of preserving the discovery and installing a viewing window for the public.

[HogwartsExpress]

British man detained after climbing 72nd floor of Seoul skyscraper


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A British man was detained after climbing more than half way up the world’s fifth-tallest skyscraper in Seoul with only his bare hands on Monday, authorities said.

More than 90 emergency, police and other personnel were dispatched to the 123-story, 555-meter (1,820-foot) -tall Lotte World Tower, after the man was spotted scaling the building on Monday morning, the Seoul fire agency said in a statement.

The man, in his 20s, reached the 72nd floor, which is about 310 meters (1,020 feet) high, before officials took him to a gondola lift and moved him inside the building, the statement said.

South Korean media identified the man as free climber George King-Thompson. The reports said he was carrying a parachute and told police that he wanted to BASE-jump from the top of the building.

Fire and police authorities didn’t immediately confirm the man’s name or his motive.

King-Thompson was arrested in 2019 after scaling the Shard in London — the U.K.’s tallest skyscraper at 310 meters (1,017 feet) — after the owners of the building pressed charges against him for trespassing. He was sentenced to six months in prison and served three.

In 2021, he climbed the 36-story Stratosphere Tower, a residential block in east London’s Stratford neighborhood and reached the top in less than half an hour. He said he picked the building because he was shocked by the flash floods that recently hit the area and wanted to raise awareness to the seriousness of climate change.

Police confirmed they took custody of the man but didn’t provide further details.

The Lotte Property & Development, which operates the tower, said the man didn’t suffer any major injuries. The fire agency statement said he suffered a cut on his skin on the right knee.

In 2018, French climber Alain Robert, known as “Spiderman” for his daring stunt, was also detained after climbing the 75th floor of the Lotte World Tower. Lotte officials said they heard he was eventually released and left South Korea after they told police they didn’t want to press charges for obstruction or trespassing.

The Lotte Property & Development said company officials were expected to discuss what to do with the British man.

src: https://apnews.com/article/south-korea- ... bf8a71e861

[HogwartsExpress]

British man detained after climbing 72nd floor of Seoul skyscraper


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A British man was detained after climbing more than half way up the world’s fifth-tallest skyscraper in Seoul with only his bare hands on Monday, authorities said.

More than 90 emergency, police and other personnel were dispatched to the 123-story, 555-meter (1,820-foot) -tall Lotte World Tower, after the man was spotted scaling the building on Monday morning, the Seoul fire agency said in a statement.

The man, in his 20s, reached the 72nd floor, which is about 310 meters (1,020 feet) high, before officials took him to a gondola lift and moved him inside the building, the statement said.

South Korean media identified the man as free climber George King-Thompson. The reports said he was carrying a parachute and told police that he wanted to BASE-jump from the top of the building.

Fire and police authorities didn’t immediately confirm the man’s name or his motive.

King-Thompson was arrested in 2019 after scaling the Shard in London — the U.K.’s tallest skyscraper at 310 meters (1,017 feet) — after the owners of the building pressed charges against him for trespassing. He was sentenced to six months in prison and served three.

In 2021, he climbed the 36-story Stratosphere Tower, a residential block in east London’s Stratford neighborhood and reached the top in less than half an hour. He said he picked the building because he was shocked by the flash floods that recently hit the area and wanted to raise awareness to the seriousness of climate change.

Police confirmed they took custody of the man but didn’t provide further details.

The Lotte Property & Development, which operates the tower, said the man didn’t suffer any major injuries. The fire agency statement said he suffered a cut on his skin on the right knee.

In 2018, French climber Alain Robert, known as “Spiderman” for his daring stunt, was also detained after climbing the 75th floor of the Lotte World Tower. Lotte officials said they heard he was eventually released and left South Korea after they told police they didn’t want to press charges for obstruction or trespassing.

The Lotte Property & Development said company officials were expected to discuss what to do with the British man.

src: https://apnews.com/article/south-korea- ... bf8a71e861

Florida beachgoers shocked when bear emerges from Gulf of Mexico



Visitors to a Florida beach were in for a surprise when a black bear was spotted swimming side-by-side with their fellow beachgoers.

Multiple visitors to the crowded beach in Destin captured video when the bear emerged from the ocean and swam next to human beachgoers before making its way to shore.

"The bear was out pretty far," Chris Barron, who recorded footage of the bear, told WTVT-TV. "A lot of people started swimming in. I was worried it was a shark. I walked over and thought it was a dog."

Barron said the bear was swimming right by his brother and 12-year-old son.

"At this point I realized it was a bear and started videoing. It kept swimming in. He got to shore, shook off, and ran into the brush in the sand dunes," Barron said. "I think most people were shocked instead of being scared. No one expected to see a bear in the Gulf of Mexico."

[PennySerenade]

This Ontario woman is on a journey to locate the family linked to 70-year-old letter she found



Jackie Williams has been on a long journey to track down the family linked to a letter written 70 years ago that she found near a sidewalk at a busy intersection after leaving work in Newmarket, Ont., in 2021.

Williams, who lives in Angus, Ont., decided to walk instead of take an Uber to pick up her car from an auto shop that November afternoon. She had initially walked past the letter, but something caught her eye.

"I went back, picked it up and was marvelling at the date of it, and it was in perfect condition," Williams told CBC News.

"Ever since then, I've been trying to find the owner because obviously you don't hold on to something from 1953 for 70 years and it has no sentimental value to you."

'All my love, Bruce'



The letter is addressed to a Miss Mary Russell in Toronto. The envelope has a post office stamp that reads, "Kitchener Ontario, 10:30 a.m., September 5, 1953." The letter starts with, "Hi honey," and ends with, "All my love, Bruce."

On the top right corner, there's Bruce's address and the date he wrote it to Mary: "166 Margaret Ave. Kitchener Ont., Sept.2, 1953."

While reading the letter, Williams learned Bruce and Mary were a couple living apart. Bruce talks about getting their vehicle fixed and having bought a wedding present for a friend.

"It's the everyday stuff, but sentimental to someone," Williams said.

Soon after finding the letter, Williams took to social media to begin searching for the family. She put a post on the Facebook page for Newmarket Today that appealed to anyone with information to get in touch.

Unfortunately, she said, the post didn't get much traction. Months went by. A year to the date of when she found the letter, Williams decided to try again.

"I found [the letter] sitting on my dresser one day and I thought, 'Lets try and reinitiate the search,' and that's when I shared it on social media again and that generated a fair bit of interest, unfortunately not from the rightful owner," she said.

A community effort

It was through her second post that Williams came in contact with two women who provide ancestry and genealogy services: Tracey Montgomery in Essex County and Aime Elcome-Barris in Kwartha Lakes.



Montgomery has been doing adoption searches and reunions across Canada since 1995 at no charge. She came to know the story of the lost letter through another community member.

"I was tagged in this post that was sent to me through a private message from a person I had helped in the past, saying that I could possibly help them locate the owner or family member of this letter to Mary Russell," Montgomery told CBC News.

"Jackie had sent me copies of the letter and as I was reading, I was so touched. To think that somebody actually kept this letter for 70 years and then suddenly the letter is gone."

Williams connected the two women, and with their help, she found out Mary Russell married Bruce Lang in January 1954, just a few months after the letter was written. It was a double wedding, with her sister Elizabeth, according a newspaper clipping Montgomery found.

"Mary and Bruce have two children, one of which has been identified as living down the road ... I have not been able to get in touch with him," Williams said, adding a daughter may be living in Canada's West Coast.

Journey to find Mary

According to an obituary Montgomery found, Bruce passed away in January 2000 and may be buried in Toronto. But to Williams's surprise, Montgomery was not able to find an obituary for Mary and she may still be alive.



"Mary would be 96 and still living. There's nothing to identify that she has passed," Williams said.

Montgomery said she was looking for an obituary for Mary Lang in Toronto, but instead found a newspaper article.

"It was a very, very positive review for a seniors' home in Toronto, and it showed Mary was living there and the review was by her daughter Sharon and Sharon's husband," Montgomery said.

"That kind of gave me verification that she is either still alive or alive up until lately."

Williams is now on a journey to find Mary or her son.

"I'm hoping to look him up a little bit easier than Mary — Aurora is a lot smaller than Scarborough — and hopefully get the letter to him. It's his family history."

If that doesn't work, Williams said, she may have one more option: Drive to Scarborough and find Mary.

"The address that was provided is a multi-unit apartment building, so I'll probably be taking a bit of a drive and doing my own investigative work."

The rise and fall of a 14-time lottery winner

A 14-time lottery winner ended up scoring thousands of dollars — before he lost it all.

Romanian economist Stefan Mandel, now 89, was once desperate for cash, so he ended up figuring out just how to beat the system to win the lottery.

Mandel spent years planning and doing mathematical research to come up with a “number-picking algorithm,” drawing on a method he called “combinatorial condensation.”

He figured out that sometimes the price of buying enough lottery tickets to play every possible combination was less than the jackpot prize — so he could make a profit by doing so.

If a game needed six numbers between one and 40 to be selected, there would be 3,838,380 possible number combinations.

Mandel formed a lottery syndicate — a group of people who play the lottery together by pooling their money together to buy multiple tickets, increasing their winning chances.

He and his syndicate bought a huge amount of tickets and took home the top prize: almost $19,000.

After splitting up the profits, Mandel was left with about $3,700 — just enough to avoid Romanian officials and escape Communism. He moved with his wife and two kids to Australia in the 1960s.

Mandel’s method with his syndicate allowed them to win the lottery 14 times, and it was always completely legal. In the wake of his big wins, Mandel convinced investors to build a bigger lotto syndicate, with one syndicate manager buying all the tickets and splitting the cash.

He continued to grow his technique and eventually turned it into an automated system. He designed the system to allow printers and computers to automatically apply the algorithm to fill out tickets with every number combination.

The automatic method gave Mandel and his group 12 lottery wins and thousands of smaller prizes across the UK and Australia — but eventually, authorities caught on and started to investigate them.

Since the method wasn’t illegal at the time, the rules were changed to ban bulk-buying tickets as well as the use of computer-generated tickets.

But Mandel didn’t let this stop him.

He used the money he already had to search for scouts across seas in the United States, as well as compiling data on previous lotteries with jackpots that were higher than the total cost of tickets for all number combinations.

He locked in on the Virginia Lottery, which only used the numbers between one and 44, so the total number of possible combinations was millions lower than other lotteries.

The former economist set up an official company, Pacific Financial Resources, and a trust under it, called the International Lotto Fund, and convinced thousands of investors to increase funding by millions.

Mandel created a headquarters at a warehouse in Melbourne with a full-time staff of 16 people to use his method to print out seven million lotto tickets over a span of three months, which he mailed to an associate in the US. The group got lucky, winning the lottery as well as additional smaller prizes.

Once again, Mandel’s methods weren’t illegal, but they raised many suspicions with authorities.

Mandel was brought into a four-year-long legal battle, and he was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing — but this caused him financial troubles.

A LOTTERY genius beat the system and scooped 14 massive jackpots - before it all came crashing down.
The automatic method gave Mandel and his group 12 lottery wins and thousands of smaller prizes across the UK and Australia — but eventually, authorities caught on and started to investigate them.

He pocketed millions from his wins, but his investors were left with less money than they were supposed to receive.

Mandel ended up filing for bankruptcy in 1995.

His methods of lotto madness led the US to establish laws banning it.

“I’m a man who takes risks, but in a calculated way,” Mandel told Romanian newspaper Bursa in 2012. “Trimming my beard is a lottery: There is always the possibility that I’ll cut myself, get an infection in my blood and die — but I do it anyway. The chances are in my favor.”

Now, Mandel lives on a tropical island called Vanuatu, along with many of his former syndicate group.

https://nypost.com/2023/06/07/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-14-time-lottery-winner/

[lush]

Man Uses Burka Disguise to Participate in Women’s Chess Tournament
04172023*

A Kenyan man recently made international news headlines after being caught taking part in a women’s chess tournament using a full burka as a disguise.

In what is considered a first for the Kenyan Chess Federation, a disciplinary committee is currently debating the proper punishment for a male player who disguised himself as a Muslim woman in an attempt to win a women’s chess tournament. 25-year-old Stanley Omondi was reportedly facing financial woes when he decided to try and get his hands on the £2,400 ($3,000) grand prize of a women’s chess tournament. To pull it off without attracting too much suspicion, the male chess player put on a black burka which only left his eyes and feet visible, and registered under the false name ‘Millicent Awour’. At first, organizers were none the wiser to the player’s gender, but it was his prowess at the game of chess that first drew their attention…


https://images.mobilism.org/
Photo: Chess Kenya

“We didn’t have any suspicion at first, because wearing a hijab is normal,” Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala told BBC Africa, adding that it was his convincing victories against some notable female players that drew their attention.

“It would be unlikely to have a new person who has never played a tournament to be this strong,” Wanjala added.

As Omondi kept winning, organizers started noticing other small red flags, like the fact that the player’s footwear looked more masculine that the other players’, and that he never spoke, either to members of the tournament staff or other players, which was very unusual.

“We also noticed he was not talking, even when he came to collect his tag, he couldn’t speak, ordinarily, when you are playing, you speak to your opponent… because playing a chess game is not war, it’s friendship,” Wanjala said.


Photo: Chess Kenya

Still, because they didn’t want to be accused of profiling the player due to their religious attire, Chess Kenya let Millicent Awour continue to play. However, after beating a very strong opponent in the fourth round, organizers intervened and called the player a ‘he’ to his face. He didn’t seem surprised and actually admitted to being a man immediately.

“He said he was only doing that because he had financial difficulties and thought winning the title will help him overcome them, the Chess Kenya President told journalists.

Stanley Omondi’s case has been referred to the international chess federation for consideration, and many expect him to be banned from all official chess competitions for several years.


Photo: Chess Kenya

While this may be the first time a man disguises himself as a woman to win a chess tournament, we’ve reported similar cases in college exam scenarios.

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Scientists Amazed By Sighting of Extremely Rare Jellyfish Only Seen Once Before



A group of scientists were left amazed after the sighting of an extremely rare jellyfish that was only seen once before.

The team of experts spotted the animal during an expedition by the Ocean Exploration Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to marine exploration and research.

The video below captures the moment and shows the bizarre-looking creature slowly making its way through the depths, as the team of experts is left entranced at the sight of it.

One scientist can be heard exclaiming, “Woah! What is that?”—while the vehicle they’re operating remotely first encounters the jellyfish.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” another can be heard saying. “I have no idea what it is.”

The animal was sighted on May 31 in the deep and remote Pacific Ocean, 130 miles from the nearest landmark Kingman Reef, which is 4,800 miles away from Australia.

Classified an “undescribed” because it has no name or detailed description by any researchers, the species has only ever been seen once before, on a 2015 expedition by The Ocean Exploration Trust.

It distinguishes itself from other jellyfish by three long “tentacles” sprouting at an odd angle from the top of its head.

It is also, surprisingly, believed to prey on other jelly-like animals, such as other jellyfish and swimming sea cucumbers using its long tentacles to catch prey.

Dr. Dhugal Lindsay, a research scientist with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, commented on the creature’s strange tentacles, saying, “This is extremely rare for a jellyfish as they are normally radially splittable into ‘pizza slices’ with even, rather than odd, numbers.

“They hold the tentacles in front of them as they swim, so that the tentacles come into contact with their large gelatinous prey before the bow wave of the water they “push” before them as they swim reaches it and it senses this water movement and escapes—a kind of stealth predation so-to-speak.”

This new species is believed to be part of the Bathykorus genus, but does not match any other species of this kind due to its brown color.

At this point, it’s really anyone’s guess.

The Ocean Exploration Trust has more free live streams of their expeditions at http://www.nautilus.live.com.

After 100 days, Florida scientist ‘Dr Deep Sea’ resurfaces after breaking record for living underwater

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN June 11, 2023


Dr. Joseph Dituri surfaces on June 9 after living for 100 days underwater

An associate university professor in Florida has completed his research mission and set a new world record in the process: living 100 days beneath the ocean’s surface.

On Friday morning, Dr. Joseph Dituri felt the sun’s rays for the first time since retreating to a subaquatic compound 22 feet below the waters of Key Largo, Florida, on March 1.

Dituri, 55, a biomedical engineer who teaches at the University of South Florida and calls himself “Dr. Deep Sea,” spent just over three months at the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the only underwater hotel in the United States, according to the hotel’s website.

The research project, Project Neptune 100, was organized by the Key Largo-based Marine Resources Development Foundation and focused on ocean conservation research and studying how compression affects the human body, according to Dituri’s website.


Diving explorer and medical researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri is examined on June 9 after living for 100 days in the Jules' Undersea Lodge at the bottom of a lagoon in Key Largo.

The US Navy veteran said he’s already noticed one impact: The water pressure seems to have shrunken his stature by half an inch. Dituri stood at 6 feet 1 inch tall before starting his mission, the University of South Florida stated in a news release.

The scientist began the project with a hypothesis that increased pressure could help humans live longer and prevent aging-related diseases, the news release said. Dituri said he hopes his underwater research will benefit the treatment of a variety of illnesses, including traumatic brain injuries, according to the release.

Dituri also used the project as an educational experience for youth.

“We intended to and have interacted with thousands of school children to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math,” Dituri told Guinness World Records on June 8.

While underwater, he continued teaching his college students virtually, according to the University of South Florida.

Dituri broke the Guinness World Record for longest time living underwater at the 74-day mark of his project, on May 13.

The previous record stood at 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes, set at the same location at Dituri’s successful attempt, according to Guinness World Records.

Friends, family, fans of his 100-day journey and a medical team greeted Dituri on Friday as he broke the water’s surface after 14 weeks below, the University of South Florida news release said.


Dr. Joseph Dituri points to his watch on June 9, 2023, indicating that it is time for him to surface.

“The human body has never been underwater that long,” Dituri said in the news release. “This experience has changed me in an important way, and my greatest hope is that I have inspired a new generation of explorers and researchers to push past all boundaries.”