Victim Mary Reeser and the scene of the body burned to ash, leaving only a portion of the leg left. Photo: ATI On July 2, 1951, Pansy Carpenter, Mary Reeser’s landlord, stopped by the tenant’s apartment to send a telegram. When Pansy knocked on the door, no one answered. She put her hand on the doorknob and felt unusually hot, so she called the police. Police immediately went to the apartment at 1,200 Cherry Street (St. Petersburg town, Florida, USA) when he discovered that Marry Reeser, 67 years old, had died in a mysterious fire. Reports say the victim’s body was burned to ashes by a “white” flame – a color displaying temperatures between 1,300-1,500 degrees Celsius, equivalent to that in a crematorium. The victim’s body was almost completely ashes, leaving only one leg left, with the sandals intact, and no trace of carbon black. A part of Reeser’s spine and skull were also found at the scene. Although the apartment was still very warm and smoky when the police arrived, most of the furniture was still intact. Only plastic objects placed near the chair of Mrs. Reeser were melted and deformed. The carpet had a scorch mark. Most of the chair where the victim was sitting burned, but the wall behind that was not cracked or scorched. The rest of the room seemed unaffected by the fire that burned Mary Reeser. The sheets nearby are also not burnt, damaged, or even dirty. The scene of a mysterious fire in the apartment of Mary Reeser. Photo: ATI It takes about 1,600 degrees Celsius to heat for 3 or 4 hours to cremate a body. Therefore, the incident has made the authorities confused. Due to the mysterious circumstances of the case, it is suspected that Mrs. Reeser was a victim of spontaneous human combustion. It is when a person ignites their own flame from a chemical reaction inside their body, without any apparent ignition from the outside heat source. Although there have been documents about the human body igniting itself as early as 1663, not all scientists are convinced by it. Sheriff Cass Burgess was the detective investigating the Reeser case at the time. “This fire is too strange a thing,” he told reporters. Apartment diagram where the “ashen woman” case took place. The fire location is close to the kitchen, opposite the bed is still intact. Photo: thedeadhistory On 7/7/1951, Burgess and his team sent the evidence box from the victim’s apartment to the FBI laboratory (in Washington DC) for chemical analysis. Some of the evidence included ash, shoes, part of the carpet, mortar from the walls, pieces of fibers suspected from the victim’s nightgown, fragments of bone, and remains of the chair Reeser sat on when she died Fire…. The public is also very attentive to the case. Investigator Ed Silk said at least 15 amateur detectives called him to come up with their theories. The detective team released a statement saying it was a “accidental death from unexplained fire”. That doesn’t mean they are concluding the investigation, but just to help organize the burial of the victim, Burgess explained. Meanwhile, the FBI determined that Mary Reeser’s death was not caused by self-ignition. However, the incident is still a mystery. The FBI believes that Mary Reeser’s own body fat that fueled the fire that burned her could have come from smoking a cigarette and falling asleep. Ms. Reeser was set ablaze and “as soon as the body caught fire, almost complete destruction occurred from the victim’s own adipose tissue”. It is true that human adipose tissue is very flammable, and even easier in fat people. And Reeser is a huge woman, weighing 77kg. Investigators examine the crime scene. Photo: ATI The FBI’s explanation also has some basis, but it provides only partial explanation, as there are still some anomalies. For example, a stack of newspapers lined up next to the victim’s chair is still intact, not even scorched. Dr. Wilton M. Krogman, a professor of physical anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, an experienced fire researcher, disagrees with the FBI’s conclusions. Mr. Krogman has written about all five deaths he investigated in the past. “I cannot imagine such a complete cremation without burning the apartment at all,” the professor wondered. Some other explanations are given one after another, such as lightning, explosives … However, that night there was no lightning at St. Petersburg. The test sample of the evidence from the scene also showed no signs of any gasoline or flammable substance. After an investigation went nowhere, the police finally concluded the cause was “a forgotten cigarette”. However, the question from here is, will someone die from being unable to wake up even while on fire? If Mrs. Reeser was awake, why couldn’t the housekeeper Pansy hear the screams? Finally, after exactly 70 years, the death of the “ashen woman” remains a mystery that challenges investigators.

The royal chocolate box is intact after 121 years From sweet eggs to luxurious chocolates, Easter is a time when many people will give gifts to loved ones. Perhaps everyone will check the expiration date carefully on the packaging and surely the product is made in this century. Can you believe it, though, that the boxes of chocolates over a hundred years old are still intact after being discovered. Recently, people found a box of chocolate about 121 years old in a helmet box in a house in the Norfolk area, eastern England in an intact condition. Chocolate box sent by Queen Victoria of England to the army of this country in South Africa. The giant British confectionery companies Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree produced boxes of chocolates in 1900 as emotional supportive gifts for soldiers fighting the battlefields in South Africa. Anna Forrest, curator of cultural heritage at the National Trust said: “Although the product doesn’t look good and has been out of date for a long time, you won’t want to eat it anymore, but the chocolate box is still there. intact, is an astonishing discovery. The newly discovered chocolate box once belonged to 8th Baron Henry Edward Paston-Bedingfeld, who fought in the war in South Africa. The chocolate box was discovered during the assembly process of his daughter, Frances Greathead, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 100. Inside the royal chocolate box after 121 years This is a gift from Queen Victoria to the British army soldiers fighting in South Africa in 1900. Each box weighing more than 200 grams has the words ‘South Africa 1900’ and ‘Happy New Year’ engraved in the writing. The Queen’s hand. It is known that more than 100,000 boxes of chocolate have been produced, each containing pure chocolate. Anna Forrest said: “We assume that the 8th baron kept a box of chocolates and a helmet as memories of a time of the war.” Before that, the Australian national librarians were shocked to find a 121-year-old chocolate box hidden inside the personal collection of the famous Australian poet Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson. The chocolates are still in the straw packaging and foil wrapping. It is also the box of chocolates sent by Queen Victoria to the soldiers in South Africa in 1900. The reason Paterson got this box of chocolates was because he had been a battlefield correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on the South African battlefield for almost a year starting in October 1899 before returning to Australia. . His family collections have been kept passed down from generation to generation after his death in 1941. In 2019, the family donated the library.

Oos Lions, hyenas and other predators still stalk the wildebeest, preventing them from eating too much of the plant. The variety of plants and grass supports other species, from fish birds to insects. In turn, these animals carry seeds or pollen throughout the plains, creating conditions for many types of plants to reproduce. Humans also appear there, but with relatively meager density. This is a prime example of an intact ecosystem: complex relationships that together maintain the rich diversity of the Earth. According to a survey of the ecosystems on Earth, most of the land on Earth – about 97% – no longer qualifies for ecological integrity. Researchers announced on April 15 in the journal Frontiers in Forest and Global Change: in the past 500 years, too many species have been either extinct or in decline. Specifically, scientists set the year 1500 AD, which means that only parts of the world are ecologically intact like 500 years ago with the addition of species of similar abundance. can be considered a wilderness. As a result, only 2.8% of planet Earth’s surface matches the description. These “wild plaques”, each with an area of ​​10,000 square kilometers or more, are scattered in various parts of the world. Of the few intact ecosystems, only about 11% of the land is in existing protected areas. These include Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in Congo, Serengeti-Ngorongoro in Tanzania, Alto Rio Negro indigenous territory in the Amazon forest, Great Siberian Polynya in northern Russia, and Kawésqar National Park in southern Chile. These are very rare and special places to be preserved, but only 11% of them are in protected areas. “Those are the best of the best, the last places on Earth have not lost a species as we know it,” said Oscar Venter, a conservation scientist at the University of North British Columbia. . It is important to identify such places, he said, especially for areas under development threats that need protection, such as the Amazon rainforest. Conservation scientists have long tried to map places that have not been affected by human activity. Researchers estimate that 20-40% of the Earth’s soil surface can be considered ecologically intact. But what can be detected by satellite is the ugly reality of the true extent of wildlife habitat. Beneath the seemingly intact tree canopy, the extinction of mammals and large birds from hunting, invasive species or disease has undermined the biodiversity of the areas. wild in the world. Biologist Andrew Plumptre, University of Cambridge said: “Hunting, impact of invasive species, climate change – these can harm ecosystems, but they are not easily detected. right through the satellite ”. Plumptre and his colleagues began looking for habitats that fully retain natural species, in abundance, in 1500 AD. That is the basis that the International Union for Conservation of Nature uses to evaluate the extinction of species, even though humans have changed their ecosystems by wiping out many large mammals over the past thousands of years. Overall, the amount of ecologically intact soil “is much lower than we expected,” said Plumptre. This shows how terribly man has affected nature. Some scientists question whether study authors are too strict in their definition of ecosystem integrity. Many ecosystems around the world have lost one or two species, but they remain vibrant, diverse communities. The decline of some species may not cause a catastrophe to the entire ecosystem, as other species may replace the role of lost species. The researchers calculated that while only 3% of the land is currently ecologically intact, bringing in up to five species lost could restore 20% of the land as before. This helps the ecosystem gradually return to balance.

Building exterior. An old villa is estimated to be about 100 years old, called by the people around it as Bao Dai Villa, with the interior structures, rooms, stairs and toilets almost intact. The new owner of the villa, businessman Ho Hoang Hai (Phu Thanh Company) is looking for support from researchers, architects … to learn the origin of the villa and have a conservation direction. to turn this place into an attractive cultural site of Hanoi. The villa is located near Ngoc Ha slope, hidden behind the rows of shops and street kiosks, still intact the curving fence panels of the old royal garden. According to the drawings of the villa that Mr. Ho Hoang Hai collected, the villa has a splendid scalloped garden with a wall of winding like dragon body outside. The main entrance to the building. The mansion is the main work in a complex of four ancient villas located at the top of Ngoc Ha village. According to the people living in this area, these palaces are all related to the Nguyen Dynasty during the reign of King Bao Dai. Some of these houses are designed in Western style but have tiled roofs. Landing stairs and windows to get sunlight. The building has a unique architecture that combines both oriental styles. Passing through the gate of 186 Ngoc Ha, one can easily see that the fence wall of the villa is built like a dragon, covered with tile, and from above, you can see that the entire wall is formed into a shell Giant clams embrace the mansion. The stairs lead up to the attic. Entrepreneur Ho Hoang Hai said that this villa has passed the hands of many owners, however, fortunately the owners are very careful to keep the house during the stay, so the basic structure of the building, with some parts of the interior still intact. The whole floor is paved with ironwood, the water is shiny black like new. The system of built-in cabinets is also made of iron wood. Inside the rooms, every room has a fireplace. The wall separates rooms inside the building up to 60cm, is soundproof and keeps warm in winter, but makes rooms cool in summer. Wooden ladder. The stylized winding wooden staircase, with the armrest is firmly built with bricks and wooden edges. In the corridor connecting the rooms on the floor, there are built-in technical boxes, which seemed impossible at a time about 100 years ago. In addition to the original wooden door system, the building also has sliding door systems in some rooms and garages, which are still running smoothly and very light. Except for a few rooms, the owner has made plaster ceilings to serve the needs of homestay, but did not affect much the structure. In particular, the villa also has a self-contained, upstairs toilet, which is no different from modern houses, which was difficult to find in other ordinary houses 100 years ago. The stairs lead to the 3rd floor. Mr. Dao Duc Toan, 66 years old this year, who is one of those who lived near the mansion since he was a child, said that this mansion has many interesting things. For example, below the building there is an underground tunnel about a few hundred meters long, which is said to lead to West Lake, to the seaplane wharf of King Bao Dai. Residents living around the building also told the story of going down this tunnel to avoid bombs and hide the soldiers there during wartime. When the peace was restored, for a while the tunnel became a place to play hide and seek for children in this area before it was closed to avoid rats, bugs … Ho Hoang Hai (in black shirt standing in the middle) was leading reporters to visit the villa. In addition, Mr. Ho Hoang Hai also said that he heard people around him about a building about 50 meters away from this mansion, which is said to be the dance floor and guest house of King Bao Dai. In fact, at the beginning of Ngoc Ha slope, there used to be a famous draft beer restaurant in Hanoi at that time because there was a wine cellar below. Mr. Dao Duc Toan recounted that when he was a child, his family lived about 100 meters from the building. At that time, the population in this area was very sparse, standing on top of his house could still see the roof of the mansion. “The house has a very high historical value, with the basic interior still intact, along with many details of the building. Since childhood, I have heard that this is a building related to King Bao Dai. This house, if restored as in Do Son or Da Lat, will become an attractive tourist destination in Hanoi, ”he said. The garden fence wall is winding with the tiled roof and the relief door is still intact. Mr. Ho Hoang Hai said that he has searched for information and documents about the villa in many places, from people living in the villa’s premises, to some places to keep documents, research, but still have not found any documents and documents that accurately guide the owner and the time to build the villa. It is said that this is the house of the wife of King Bao Dai married to a French husband, there is also information that the house was built by Mrs. Marie Nguyen Huu Hao, the sister of the Empress Nam Phuong. “My biggest aspiration is to get information, as well as get help from research institutes, experts in history and architecture, to find out the exact origin and owner of the throne. this mansion. I want to turn this place into a cultural address of Hanoi, for people to understand and appreciate the precious heritage that the city owns. But only when you know clearly and concretely the information related to this house will the mansion truly return to its true meaning ”- Mr. Ho Hoang Hai shared. Some pictures inside the villa: Wall-mounted cabinets, curtain braces are still intact. All loose furniture in the house belongs to the tenant for display. Every room has a fireplace. Wall cabinet system is still intact.

The Kalmyk mainly eat beef and lamb. They have a very unique way of cooking meat called khorkhog. Men will cut the flesh into pieces, leaving the bones intact. Then they put the meat in a tin or aluminum jar with vegetables, hot water and ice. While they rode on the grasslands all day, the stones would boil pieces of meat. So they had a plate of casserole when they stopped for lunch. Before the long trip or the coming winter, people prepare kyur dried meat again. They skillfully slaughter a cow or a sheep so that the whole meat of the animal fits its whole heart. The cook will dig a hole, fill it with coal, wood or dry manure, and burn it to ash. While the ash in the pit is still hot, the heart will be lowered and covered with ash. The men will fill the hole with earth and continue to light the fire above. The result is a piece of dried meat that is both soft and flavorful. Life on horseback has taught the Kalmyk not to give up any part of the animal. They especially value sheep and beef offal. The dotur soup that every family eats is made from sheep’s heart cooked with onions and a variety of herbs. Another favorite dish of shepherds and shepherds is semjer orasn elkn. This dish is made from beef liver or lamb liver wrapped in fat membrane that is scraped from the animal’s heart and then grilled over charcoal fire. Like other Central Asian peoples, the Kalmyk also drink milk tea. Drinks made of tea leaves, milk, butter, salt and nutmeg powder both keep warm and add energy to people. Sometimes they even put lamb fat in the tea. In the summer, the Kalmyk people often make yogurt kumys from sheep or horse milk. Scientists have proven that the probiotics in kumys have a very good effect on protecting the respiratory tract.

The unfortunate “refresh” According to businessman Ho Hoang Hai – who currently owns most of the villa at 10A Ngoc Ha slope, Hanoi (now 186 Ngoc Ha lane) is said to be related to King Bao Dai, this villa is due to French architect Arthur Kruze designed. Originally, there are 3 floors, but the previous owner renovated the hot-resistant attic to become the 4th floor. The area in front of the villa, which is a garden of over 300m2, has a fence – surrounded by the people in the area called “dragon wall”, but this space has been built by people to live, only dragon wall. The surround was kept almost intact, only a short corner of the corner at the top of the alley was demolished. A corner of the villa still remains original. Photo: Thuong Hue “Two months ago I acquired a part of the ownership of the villa which is a part of the 1st and 3rd floors, the rest is from 4 owners. In general, the interior of the house has been surprisingly intact for the past 110 years such as: Stairs, ironwood floors, fireplace, wooden doors, built-in wooden cabinets ”- businessman Ho Hoang Hai shared and expressed wish to find solutions to preserve the architecture as well as historical and cultural values ​​of this villa.
However, speaking with the Economic & Urban reporter, after 4 hours of preliminary survey in and on the premises of this villa, Assoc.Prof. Dr. Khuat Tan Hung – Head of Department of Theory and Heritage Conservation architecture, Hanoi Architectural University said that the original value of the villa has been overshadowed by the regrettable renewal.
According to Assoc.Prof. Dr. Khuat Tan Hung, although the villa still retains many valuable original values, from looking outside, the professionals can see the existing details such as: yin and yang tiled roof; roof architecture inspired by traditional communal roofs with blades soaring at the four corners; dragon wall surrounds; The red brick stairs in front of the villa leading up to the second floor are still original. Inside the villa, there are intact fireplaces, built-in cabinets, window frames and curtains, showing the unique architecture of this French colonial villa, combining Eastern and Western cultures. The outward appearance has the appearance of the East, in the heart of the modern Western-style architecture; not at all contradictory, but surprisingly and interestingly in harmony with each other. Unfortunately, the homeowner has renewed the wall with white paint, plus the plaster ceiling, plus the landscape of the original villa has been replaced by undulating high-rise tube houses. The original architecture of the villa was sunk and overshadowed.
“That’s not to mention, the villa has been added to an attic, the existing wooden staircase is most likely not original, as through preliminary investigation, the original staircase leaned towards the grantino plan ( granulated stone, pigment, cement, plastering, glazing), not wood cladding. Along with that, the multi-ownership of the current villa makes the space and architecture here be broken by the walls blocking the ownership boundary. For example, the staircase from the first floor leads to the third floor (the part owned by businessman Ho Hoang Hai). With this architecture, the staircase going up to the right is the hall on the 2nd floor but is narrowed by a wall and then the path to the 3rd floor is quite narrow. ” – Associate Professor, Dr. Khuat Tan Hung analyzed.
Need to expand the scope of conservation
According to Assoc.Prof. Dr. Khuat Tan Hung, in order for the aforementioned villa to promote its value, the original element must be clearly revealed. To do this, he said that it is not easy, because the principle of conservation is to have a comprehensive conservation plan and then to be specific, that is to preserve the whole area, from house number 170 – 186 Ngoc Ha, Because there are still a number of French colonial villas in this area, there are even more intact architectural villas than the one related to King Bao Dai mentioned above. Meanwhile, this area is outside the boundary of the regulation on architectural planning management of the old quarter of Hanoi. “However, it is still a bit fortunate that it is still on the list of the management of French colonial mansions of the city. But in order to preserve and promote the value of this mansion, it is imperative to expand the conservation scope ”- Associate Professor, Dr. Khuat Tan Hung emphasized. Entrepreneur Ho Hoang Hai (leftmost) discusses with experts and economic and urban reporters. Regarding the businessman Ho Hoang Hai wants to preserve this villa, Associate Professor, Dr. Khuat Tan Hung said that this is good news, welcome and should be encouraged. Because of the fact, the villas of French colonial architecture in Hanoi that are still quite intact, mostly owned by the State, are offices, embassies; Privately owned villas appear to have been deformed over time. He also said that, in order to do this, businessman Ho Hoang Hai must first buy all the ownership of the villa in order to preserve and reveal the original value and promote the value of the villa. the villa in all aspects.
Expressing high agreement with the analysis and comments of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Khuat Tan Hung, Dr. Vu Hoai Duc – Lecturer of the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences, National University of Hanoi, said, in the world. there are already experiences in successfully conserving the urban heritage that are applicable to this case in Hanoi. People gather heritage lovers into a group, this group of people with the nucleus are “sponsors”, while promoting communication about the value of heritage works, in order to create new awareness in community. They will then work vigorously on the legal front (lobbying for regulations to make it more difficult to change the urban layout and destroy valuable buildings) and eventually donate. have enough money, buy heritage buildings, renovate them beautifully and then sell them at a much higher price, with legal covenants protecting their identity.

“In my opinion, in Vietnam, specifically Hanoi can also be deployed in this way and Mr. Hai can form a team of lovers of old and old villas to mobilize collective strength in conservation work. , not only the villa is partly owned by you but also many other single villas are privately owned in the area and in the city area ”- Dr. Vu Hoai Duc said and said that, in the short term, It is necessary to properly assess the value of the urban heritage itself in the spatial population with tangible and intangible links on the cultural – historical dimension. For example, the continuation of the row of 3 villas, closely related to the Botanical Park – the royal garden in the past; Dinh and Ngoc Ha village – one of the ancient lands of Thang Long citadel. From there, it is possible to issue and enforce sanctions in repair and construction of works, work areas that are considered to have historical, cultural and architectural values. Although it is called “Bao Dai Villa”, the fact that King Bao Dai ever owned or actually lived here is not certain. There is information that this villa was built and inaugurated by an aunt of King Bao Dai in 1911 (Bao Dai was born in 1917), when abdicated, King Bao Dai used to come here. However, it is said that this is the mansion of Mr. Bao Dai with King Bao Dai, that is Baron Pìerre Jules François Didelot – husband of Mrs. Marie Agnès Huu Hao, sister of Nam Phuong Hoang Hau. The villa was built in 1939, not 1911, by architect Arthur Kruze (1900 – 1989) – professor of Indochina Fine Arts College, because according to recorded documents, architect Arthur Kruze graduated in architecture in 1929 and I went to Vietnam to be a lecturer in 1930 – 1954.

Fortunately, the second half of the 2,600-ton submarine, 73 meters long, displaced the water, remained undamaged after the fire. And in the difficult emergence of wisdom, French naval officials had the idea of ​​pairing the rest with its “sister” – the Saphir submarine. Perle nuclear submarine intact. Photo: Reddit Although decommissioned in 2019, and waiting to be dismantled, the Saphir front section remains relatively stable in construction. Therefore, French authorities determined that the ship could still be combined with the back of Perle to form a new attack submarine. Perle was subsequently relocated from Toulon to Cherbourg in December of last year. The workers cut it in half and the Saphir. According to French naval contractor Naval Group, earlier this month, the second half of the Perle and the front half of the Saphir were put on “conveyor” at the shipyard in Cherbourg, so that they can be carefully calibrated and welded. together. Perle submarines after being burned by fire nearly half. Photo: Marine Nationale A Naval Group spokesperson said assembly will continue to be completed in the coming months. The complete submarine, still named Perle, will be about 1.5 meters longer than its “predecessors” thanks to an additional “intersection zone”. The intersection zone on the new version of the Perle submarine will add a bit of living space for about 70 sailors operating inside the ship. Digital model According to Naval Group, all assemblies are simulated using 3D digital methods before being applied to a real ship. This is the effort spent more than 100,000 hours of technical research and 250,000 hours of manual work by more than 300 technicians and shipbuilders. Two pieces of the Perle submarine after being cut in half at the Cherbourg Shipyard, France. Photo: AP Franck Ferrer, Director of Naval Group Services, said in January the new version is expected to return to Toulon by the end of this year, for further engineering and upgrade of the combat system. . The ship will rejoin the French Navy fleet in early 2023. “The implementation of the project for these cases, namely the repairing and joining of parts of two sister ships together, was the first thing Naval Group did in modern history,” said Ferrer. said. Rare luck The Perle was not the first instance of two parts of two different ships being assembled together. According to Thomas Shugart, a retired commander of the American attack submarine, the US Navy did the same thing by replacing the damaged bow of the USS San Francisco with the bow of the soon-to-be retired USS Honolulu. The process of assembling two-part Perle submarines with Saphir. Video: Le Télégramme However, the Perle submarine can “revive” is still considered a rare luck compared to similar cases in the past. In 2012, a disgruntled worker caused a serious fire on the USS Miami submarine, while the ship was undergoing repairs at the port of Portsmouth, Maine (USA). The ship then became a waste product due to the high cost of restoration. By 2020, the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is also damaged by fire while being upgraded in San Diego port (USA). After determining it would take up to $ 3.2 billion and seven years to repair, the USS Bonhomme Richard was finally removed from service with the US Navy.