Never can tell what you might dig up in the garage or attic.
A pickled “dragon” that looks as if it might once have flown around Harry Potter’s Hogwarts has been found in a garage in Oxfordshire, England. The baby dragon, in a sealed jar, was discovered with a metal tin containing paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s.
Allistair Mitchell, who was asked to investigate the dragon by a friend, David Hart, who discovered it in his garage, speculates that German scientists may have attempted to use the dragon to hoax their English counterparts at the end of the 19th century, when rivalry between the countries was intense. “At the time, scientists were the equivalent of today’s pop stars. It would have been a great propaganda coup for the Germans if it had come off,” Mr Mitchell said.
Those whacky German scientists …
The dragon is made, most likely, of rubber or wax (click it for a larger image). But, of course, until someone actually cuts it open, there’s always the chance it’s real …
The documents suggest that the Natural History Museum turned the dragon away, possibly because they suspected it was a trick, and sent it to be destroyed. But it appears a porter intercepted the jar and took it home. The papers suggest the porter may have been Frederick Hart – David Hart’s grandfather.
I suspect that David Hart’s grandmother suggested in no uncertain terms that the garage was a better place for such an item than the mantlepiece.
(via BoingBoing)
To heck with the wife. That would be smack dab in the middle of my living room with spot-lights and a security system.
Way cool, that is.
Or maybe it’s just a hoax about a hoax …
(via Cronaca)