Age-old debt comes back to bite Berlin
BERLIN: The sleepy hamlet of Mittenwalde in eastern Germany could become one of the richest towns in the world if Berlin were to repay it an outstanding debt that dates back to 1562. A certificate of debt, found in a regional archive, attests that Mittenwalde lent Berlin 400 guilders on May 28 1562, to be repaid with six percent interest per year. According to Radio Berlin Brandenburg (RBB), the debt would amount to 11,200 guilders today, which is roughly equivalent to 112 million euros ($136.79 million). Adjusting for compound interest and inflation, the total debt now lies in the trillions, by RBB’s estimates. Town historian Vera Schmidt found the centuries-old debt slip in the archive, where it had been filed in 1963. Though the seal is missing from the document, Schmidt told Reuters that she was certain the slip was still valid. “In 1893 there was a debate in which the document was examined and the writing was determined to be authentic,” Schmidt said.
Lettuce photo gets three Burger King staff fired
MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio: Burger King says three workers were fired after a photo posted online appeared to show an employee stepping on lettuce in bins at a northwest Ohio restaurant. The hamburger chain’s statements to Ohio news outlets didn’t directly confirm reports that the picture was taken at a restaurant in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights. Burger King Corp. says the franchisee that runs the independently operated restaurant quickly investigated the matter, and three employees were terminated. The company says it won’t tolerate such violations of its strict procedures for safely handling food. It didn’t comment on the circumstances in which the photo was taken. News outlets say the picture was posted on the free-for-all website 4chan.org, and GPS data embedded in the photo led to the restaurant. Burger King Corp. is a unit of Burger King Worldwide Inc.
Message in bottle resurfaces after 35 years in Vermont
BELLOWS FALLS, Vermont: A long-lost message in a bottle has resurfaced 35 years after a Vermont boy sent it off in a favorite swimming hole. The glass bottle with a note was found recently near the Bellows Falls dam by 14-year-old Justin Shepard. It was missing its cork, but there was still enough information inside it to track down the writer, Sean Keown (COW’-un). Years ago, Keown and a pal shipped bottles containing notes down the White River in Rochester, about 75 miles away. Keown tells WCAX-TV he had no idea he would get it back. The old note promised a reward for the bottle’s finder. Keown said at the time, he was in elementary school and was thinking maybe a candy bar or soda. He thinks now it will be cash.
More than 1,000 turtles slowly escape captivity
SUMMERVILLE, Georgia: More than 1,000 turtles made a slow-speed escape from their turtle farm in northwest Georgia. Turtle farmer David Driver tells sheriff’s officials he suspects vandals might be to blame for tearing down fences around his turtle ponds in Summerville. Authorities say that allowed the turtles — including snappers, Eastern paints and yellow-bellied sliders — to leave the farm and make a beeline to nearby ponds and creeks. Driver tells The Chattanooga Times Free Press that about 1,600 of the 2,200 turtles escaped. He says his business involves selling some turtles to pet-growing operations and others to China. Sheriff's officials are continuing to search for the turtles. Summerville, known more as the home of folk artist Howard Finster than it is for turtles, is about 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.
— Compiled from agencies
