Weekend Open Thread

This is a trapped-inside-the-house-please-halp version of your weekend open thread. Anything else going on besides snow and snow removal?

The 10 strangest pieces of unclaimed luggage:

1. Hoggle from Labyrinth. Unlike other items at the Unclaimed Baggage Center, Hoggle is not for sale. He is now a permanent part of the Unclaimed Baggage Center Museum. If you’re not familiar, Hoggle was David Bowie’s dwarf-goblin minion in the 1986 movie.
2. A slew of ancient Egyptian artifacts. From a mummified falcon to a shrunken head, a bunch of objects dating back to 1500 B.C. were found in an old Gucci suitcase. Christie’s auction house ended up selling the museum-worthy items in the ‘80s.
3. A rattle snake—a live one—roaming free amongst the rest of the unclaimed baggage.
4. A Naval guidance system. Yep—a piece of equipment worth $250,000 was lost and never claimed. The people at the Center decided to be good sports and return the expensive GPS to the Navy.
5. Bountiful Barbie (but not in the way you think). A woman purchased a Barbie at the Center for her daughter, which isn’t at all unusual. After all, kids lose toys all the time. But when the girl yanked the head off her new Barbie, $500 in rolled bills tumbled out of her body.
6. A full suit of armor. Unlike the Egyptian artifacts, this guy was merely a replica of a 19th century piece. Still, I bet to this day, there’s a guy out there who continues to tell the story of the time he lost a suit of armor at the airport.
7. A violin from the 1770s. Like Hoggle, it resides in the Unclaimed Baggage Center Museum.
8. A 5.8-carat diamond set in a platinum ring and packed in a sock.
9. A camera designed for use on a NASA Space Shuttle. Between this and the Navy’s lost luggage, I’m slightly concerned about the security measures our government agencies are taking! As with the Navy’s guidance system, the Center dutifully returned the camera to NASA.
10. A 40.95-carat natural emerald.

Ann Hathaway makes a statement:

Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway tells GQ Magazine she and her parents have left the Catholic church because of the religion’s views on gay issues. Hathaway, whose brother is gay, says she and her parents became Episcopalians shortly after he came out.

“The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out,” she said. “Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?”