Rust belt city celebrates a $100m gift from the Friend they will never know.

ERIE, PA…

from: The Guardian (UK)
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Wednesday November 14, 2007

…In return for nothing more than guaranteed anonymity, this friend has benefited a small, ordinary city in the heart of America’s rust-belt with an extraordinary act of altruism – a $100m charitable bonanza.

…

But the donor’s desire to remain anonymous has not stopped the launch of one of the biggest US media hunts for decades. Mike Batchelor, the head of a charitable foundation in Erie, is one of the few who knows The Friend’s identity but he giving away no clues. Asked if the donor is alive or dead, Mr Batchelor, head of the Erie Community Foundation which is dispersing the money, told the Guardian yesterday: “No comment.” He went on to talk about the person in the present tense. That suggested the person was still alive? “No comment.”

Filed under: Ancient World, Erie

Iron Butterfly

Filed under: Ancient World, As advertised on Myspace

Hobbit Confirmation?

from The Daily Grail (where else?):

Along with the ‘Mars water’ controversy (see my news briefs today), the case of the Indonesian ‘Hobbit’ (Homo floresiensis) has been one of the most high profile science stories of the past few years – and as with the Mars water, every few months opinion seems to flip-flop. Today, the authenticity of the ‘Hobbit’ is back in favour (and by authenticity, I mean the opinion that it is a distinct species)…

(read the whole thing: here.)

more information: Wikipedia – Homo floresiensis; The Age (Australia) – Hobbits’ wrist action shows they were little, not people; Biology – What Is The Hobbit?

Filed under: Ancient World, Hobbit, science

Seriously Odd Archeological Mysteries

Did Viking explorers reach the Incas in Peru? How much commerce passed between ancient India and the Roman Empire? What do submerged ruins off the coast of Israel reveal about the world’s first major port?

Reality Sandwich: Seriously Odd Archeological Mysteries.

Filed under: Ancient World, As advertised on Myspace