A wooden bomb sight thought to be the only surviving example of those used during the Dambusters’ daring raid on Nazi Germany has sold at auction for €54,000.
The mahogany fixture was among a series of items connected to the famous 1943 bombing run which fetched a total of €97,500 when they went under the gavel.
UK auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said there had been huge global interest in the unique memorabilia.
The aim sight, which had been expected to fetch €32,500, was up for sale alongside a map light and a parallelogram which all saw use on a Lancaster bomber which breached the Mohne dam.
Bullion brand back after 50 years
The Royal Mint has revived a bullion brand which ceased production nearly 50 years ago, meaning that fine gold and silver bars bearing the historic initials ‘RMR’ have again become available.
The move marks the first time since 1968 that customers have the opportunity to own a newly minted precious metal bar bearing the RMR initials, which represent the Royal Mint Refinery.
It is also the first time the mint has made the bars directly available to the public. The silver minted bars are available in 100g units, while the gold bars range from 1g to 100g.
Tech-savvy tot hacks into laptop
Public wi-fi hotspots are so unsecure they can be hacked into by primary schoolchildren – as seven-year-old Betsy Davies proved as part of a new experiment.
The IT-savvy primary school student took less than 11 minutes to gain access to a stranger’s laptop, as part of a new public awareness campaign by a virtual private network (VPN) provider to highlight how vulnerable public networks can be.
Though this hack was what is known as ‘ethical’ – done in a controlled environment with the aim of demonstrating how easy it is to access information on other devices by hacking their public internet connection – experts say it should serve as a warning to open hotspot users.
Rabbits comment upsets breeders
The Pope’s comment that Catholics do not have to breed “like rabbits” has caused offence among Germany’s rabbit breeders.
Francis said Catholics should instead practise “responsible parenting” and use Church-approved forms of birth control.
But Erwin Leowsky, president of the central council of German rabbit breeders, said that only rabbits that live in the wild are sexually overactive. He said those in captivity have tamer habits.
Getting a sniff of lottery jackpot
Lottery ticket buyers in New Hampshire, the US, who dream of bringing home the bacon can now smell it too.
The state lottery has released its first scratch-n-sniff I Heart Bacon ticket this month, which features a $1,000 (€858) grand prize.
Lottery Commission executive director Charlie McIntyre says players “will think it’s time for Saturday morning breakfast”.
To promote the ticket, the New Hampshire Lottery will be driving a ‘bacon truck’, handing out free applewood smoked bacon samples and tickets.
Thieves’ business sense ‘not grate’
Police say two brothers stole nearly $500,000 (€429,000) worth of sewer grates from the Philadelphia suburbs and sold them for scrap at pennies on the dollar.
Brian and John Vetrulli Jr were jailed in Montgomery County on charges of theft, conspiracy and receiving stolen property. The 36-year-old Brian and 38-year-old John were unable to post $10,000 US cash bail.
Police say the Gilbertsville men had stolen 13 sewer grates from car parks since the beginning of December and had receipts showing they had sold more than 1,000 grates to scrap metal dealers.