NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Bits and bytes of the bizarre and the strange gathered from around the web so you don’t have to….Yer welcome!
Beer bottle note among artifacts found in Michigan Central Station by Ford’s renovators
Since acquiring Michigan Central Station, Ford has been hard at work restoring the property to its former glory. In the process, workers have made dozens of fascinating discoveries, from sealed rooms to long-lost items. One — a beer bottle containing a handwritten note from 1913 — stood out. Ford historians believe it was left intentionally.
The pre-Prohibition bottle of Stroh’s (stamped July 19, 1913) was found in early May by two plaster restoration contractors named Lukas Nielsen and Leo Kimble. The bottle had been placed behind a section of plaster cornice the two were attempting to remove. A few words on the note were fairly well-preserved. It appears to have been left by two people named Dan Hogan and Leo (or Lee) Smith, who may be from Chicago. It is dated July 1913, so at least we know the beer was pretty fresh.
Nielsen says he hopes the message is something important that relates to the building. “I would drive past it and wonder what’s going to happen to the train station,” he told Ford. “Now, we are going to be part of the history of the building. It’s good to see it being revitalized after sitting derelict for so long.”
Sadly, a century has passed since somebody wrote this particular note, and in its advanced state of deterioration, restoring it to complete legibility may not be possible. Despite being “extremely” tempted, the workers who found the bottle resisted the urge to open it. They were praised for their discretion, as attempting to extract the note inside likely would have caused irreparable harm.
Other objects recovered from the station include a tea saucer from a set of china, files and accounting documents. A previously unknown room found behind the wall of an elevator shaft contained an adding machine, shoes and other discarded objects.
“The items that have been found show the care that each of the individual construction
Beer bottle note among artifacts found in Michigan Central Station by Ford’s renovators | Autoblog
Hindustan Ambassador Fights Fiat 1100 In The Slowest Drag Race Ever
Have you ever wondered which popular taxi in India is the fastest? Well in Autocar India’s latest video we get to see the Hindustan Ambassador take on its arch-rival the Fiat 1100 in a heated drag race. Before starting the video make sure to clear your schedule as this quarter-mile run is going to take a while.
The Hindustan Ambassador is a rugged classic taxi used across India to shuttle passengers through congested city streets. These taxis must also tackle rough pothole-ridden roads on city outskirts putting an emphasis on durability. The simple Hindustan Ambassador is a favorite among taxi drivers who value its simple build and focus on durability. The Hindustan Ambassador was built from 1958 all the way until 2014 which means there are tons of examples available along with a constant stream of spare parts.
The Ambassador used in this drag race features the more powerful 1.8-liter inline-4 which is good for about 60 horsepower (45 Kilowatts). This weak engine sends power to the rear wheels via a floor-mounted 5-speed manual transmission. On the exterior, the ambassador also features a strange wing mounted on the roof right above the windshield which is mostly for styling considering downforce isn’t a factor for a car this slow.
To compete with the Ambassador, Autocar host Cyrus Dhabhar brought along his highly modified Fiat 1100. When Cyrus lists off the incredible parts like for his Fiat that includes Group A rally engine parts you would expect this to be a very unfair fight. That is until you realize the power was raised from 30 horsepower (22 Kilowatts) stock to around 50 horsepower (37 Kilowatts). The Fiat 1100 must also content with a column-shifted transmission which isn’t ideal for racing applications.
Which of these classic India Taxis is the best? Well in the case of a simple drag race the stock Hindustan Ambassador beats out the plucky Fiat 1100 by a couple of seconds.
Source: Autocar India
Car plunges through roof, tries to get into bed with homeowners
If you make a habit of cruising first responders’ social media posts, you soon discover that cars plowing into houses or even landing on roofs is a regular thing. But few wayward drivers have achieved the sheer verticality or stuck the landing quite like this one in the St. Louis area, where the car went nose-first down into a house and landed at the foot of the homeowners’ bed.
“If you look at that crash it’s like, how did somebody not die?” Eureka, Mo., fire department spokesman Scott Barthelmass told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s literally incredible. (The car was) literally just saucering through the air end-over-end.”
From the description, the car was quite the pinball. The crash happened around 1:30 a.m., when the car, traveling down a road called The Legends Parkway (and adding to the legends), left the road, hit a tree and tumbled end-over-end down an embankment, hit a wrought-iron fence, seemingly catapulted into the air, and then tried to snuggle up with the homeowners.
The newspaper said the homeowner had to douse a small fire with a garden hose. And the occupants of the car? Two teenage boys, KTVI reported, got out, seemingly unharmed. They had been attending a graduation party.
Car plunges through roof, tries to get into bed with homeowners | Autoblog
Car Salesman From India In NBA’s Hall Of Fame: Introducing Nav Bhatia’s Inspirational Story
A car salesman from India becomes the NBA Hall Of Famer. Nav Bhatia, an Indian based in Canada has earned the prestigious honour in NBA’s history.
His name was added to the Hall Of Fame without him playing or coaching or even owning a team. Here is Nav Bhatia’s inspirational story. Nav Bhatia was born and raised in New Delhi, India. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in Delhi and had to leave the country due to the Anti-Sikh riots in the year 1984. He settled in Canada.
For an immigrant with a Turban and a beard, Nav’s life in Canada did not have a good start. Despite being a Mechanical Engineer, he failed to find a job. After filling out hundreds of job applications, he finally found a job as a car salesman in a rough part of town. The hate from the community at that time did not bring him down. Instead, he wanted to show hard work wins over everything. Starting as a car salesman Nav applied his skills of marketing and sold 127 cars in just 90 days. This is a record that still stands today. In recognition of his impressive achievement, Bhatia was hired as the general manager for a bigger dealership across town. The business was on the verge of bankruptcy and needed a quick turnaround to survive.
But life flipped the coin around again for Nav as all but one employee of the dealership quit because of his ethnicity. Another challenge stared Bhatia’in the face, which he took head-on again! He recruited a fresh pair of hands at the dealership and got it running again. After a few years of dedicated hard work from the entire team led by Bhatia, the car dealership not only came out from the verge of bankruptcy but also became the most successful and largest dealership in all of Canada. He bought that dealership from the owner and added a few more under his belt as well marking his success in car sales in Canada. His achievements in the car sales industry were hailed by Hyundai’s CEO as well. Bhatia has won several awards, including RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in the year 2018.
However, there were other prestigious awards that he would collect! Apart from being brilliant in the car sales industry, Bhatia shares his unconditional love towards the Raptors NBA team. From the very first day on the court back in the year 1995 when the Raptors came into existence, Bhatia has never missed a home game. It did not matter if the Raptors lost or won the match, he was always there for the entire season cheering his heart out in every game. His loyalty to the team earned him the Raptors Superfan title in the year 1998, where he was called to the centre of the court and was awarded the new title.
Nav Bhatia’s undying passion for the team got his name into the history books when the Raptors won the NBA championship in 2018. He became the first fan in NBA history to receive an official championship ring and also was part of the team’s championship parade. However, his loyalty to the sport and the team made history again, when Nav Bhatia become the first fan to be awarded the Hall Of Fame status in the NBA.
Stating this momentous event he said, “I made a promise as a kid to my mom I would never remove my turban. Today it is in the Hall of Fame. Embrace what makes you different. It is your superpower. This is the crown I wear each day. Thank you, mom.” Nav Bhatia spends over USD 300,000 every NBA season inviting children from different ethnicities to watch the Raptors game. He wants to unite the children from all backgrounds around the sport.Car Salesman From India Becomes NBA’s Hall Of Famer: Introducing Nav Bhatia’s Inspirational Story – DriveSpark
