IRISH TIMES ODDITIES:A NOVEL PHOTOGRAPH A log of mahogany which has been sawn through at Belfast was found to contain right through a very clearly defined "photograph" of a small deer and a larger animal, running.
The “photograph” was probably transmitted by lightning during a storm, and the pictures must have been “taken” a long time ago, as the tree, being four feet in diameter, is an exceedingly old one.
Every plank of the log right through shows the images clearly.
March 21st, 1908
ANTS ATTACK VATICAN
Vatican technicians were called out yesterday to fight an army of white ants which invaded Vatican City, eating their way through walls and ceilings to the heart of the Papal Archives, states Reuter. The insects penetrated the Vatican walls from the Monteveree area of Rome, where several houses have already collapsed.
They were discovered in the apartment of Cardinal Mercati, Papal Librarian and Archivist, in the area of the Vatican known as “La Zecca” (the mint).
By the time the invasion was discovered, the ants had eaten their way through several books and documents, reduced the Cardinal’s ceremonial cape to a fragment of grey powder, and eaten away an oak beam to the point where it was about to collapse on the Cardinal’s bed.
More ants were found in the six-foot wall of the Cortile Del Pallagallo, eating their way towards the private archives of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Vatican officials said yesterday that, although it was a difficult task to annihilate the ants because of the thick walls, they hoped the last invaders would be wiped out in a few days.
October20th, 1949
CURIOUS WAR MEMENTOES
One hundred and two separate pieces of shrapnel have been removed from the body of an ex-soldier who appeared before the War Pensions Appeal Board here, writes Reuter from Sydney, NSW. But he has plenty to remind him of his war experiences on the Western Front. “There are still quite a few pieces of shell knocking around inside me,” he told the board.
January 11th, 1935
TREASURE TREE CUT DOWN
Farmer John Blaney, of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, is thinking of setting up a “lost property office” in his home. First “deposits” include a rolled-gold necklace, collar studs, and a gold wedding ring.
But the ring has now been claimed by John’s wife.
Seven years ago, while she was washing some clothes, she took the ring off her finger. Later, she found that it had disappeared.
A visiting jackdaw was blamed, not without reason it would seem.
Recently, John cut down a nearby tree for timber. In a hollow in the trunk he found oddments which included the ring, which was identified from its number. Now the Blaney family are wondering which one of their neighbours lost the necklace, the studs, and for that matter, two spoons which were among “loot” hidden in the old tree-trunk.
February 4th, 1950