Austrian crown jewels found in a Canadian safe deposit box

It was the morning of November 1, 1918, and the end of his reign was nigh – that much was clear to Austria’s final emperor. He turned to a loyal servant, Lord High Steward Leopold Count Berchtold and put him in charge of a sensitive mission: to secret the Habsburg family jewels out of the country. Among the pieces was the diamond crown of Empress Elisabeth and the legendary Florentine Diamond, a glorious, walnut-sized gemstone said to glow yellow. At 137 carats, it was said to be the fourth-largest diamond in the world. The only existing photograph of the diamond, a black-and-white image taken before 1918, shows it as part of a hat brooch. Only three years after the clandestine operation, the treasure vanished without a trace. Since then, myths and conspiracy theories have swirled around its fate. Now, though, those rumors can be put to rest. (via Der Spiegel)

Ryan Bogwardt disappeared while fishing from his kayak in Wisconsin. Or did he?

Detective Sergeant Josh Ward sat in his car near the water and called the kayaker’s wife, Emily Borgwardt. She answered quickly, sounding worried. Emily told the detective that Ryan had left their home in Watertown, about an hour from Big Green Lake, at around 4:45 p.m. the previous afternoon. He’d driven the family minivan to a friend’s house to pick up wood pellets for his stove. Before setting off, he’d mentioned that he might drop the kayak in the water somewhere on his way home, and attached an enclosed trailer with the kayak. He’d told Emily over the weekend that he wanted to fish on Big Green Lake, which would be roughly on his way. As Ward updated Emily throughout the day, he could tell she was struggling to get her mind around the idea that she’d be raising three children alone. And then the detective shared something with her: they were convinced that Ryan wasn't in the lake – he was still alive. (via The Atlantic)

King Edward VII changed the clocks at his estate so he would have more time to hunt

Sandringham time is the name given to the idiosyncratic alterations that King Edward VII made to the timekeeping at the royal estate of Sandringham between 1901 and 1936. Contrary to rumour, it was not begun to assist Queen Alexandra, who was constantly late, but as a form of daylight saving time to "create" more evening daylight for hunting in the winter. The King ordered that all the clocks on the estate be set half an hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. In later years the practice was also observed at Windsor and Balmoral Castle. The custom of Sandringham time continued after the death of Edward, through the reign of his son King George V. However, because of the confusion that the time difference caused, which was heightened during George's final hours, King Edward VIII abolished the tradition during his brief reign. None of the subsequent monarchs chose to restore the tradition. (via Wikipedia)

Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. I am able to continue writing this newsletter in part because of your financial help and support, which you can do either through my Patreon or by upgrading your subscription to a monthly contribution. I enjoy gathering all of these links and sharing them with you, but it does take time, and your support makes it possible for me to do that. I also write a weekly newsletter of technology analysis called The Torment Nexus.

How would you communicate the idea of right and left to an alien race?

If I asked you to explain the difference between right and left to a friend, you would probably show them your hands and say which is which. Let’s make things harder: now explain right and left to a friend using language alone and without using the words right and left. It’s tricky, isn’t it? The difference between right and left isn’t as straightforward as it seems. In 1960, Project Ozma was launched in West Virginia. Named after the ruler of the fictional Land of Oz, Project Ozma was a huge telescope that listened for signals from space, signals that could be proof of extraterrestrial intelligence. Unfortunately, the project only ran for a few months. But let’s say the telescope had picked up these signals. How would we respond? We would need to convert their signals, and then send our own. Telescopes and computers use binary code. And directionality is crucial to binary, as it is read left to right and decoded right to left.(via Fascinating World)

Whirlpool ovens, refrigerators and dishwashers have a "Sabbath Mode" for observant Jews

During the Sabbath or Shabbat, and religious holidays in Judaism, there may be restrictions on certain activities that can extend to the use of appliances. Restrictions may include turning appliances on or off, using control panels or activating lights and sounds. Sabbath Mode enables the operation of household appliances in compliance with certain Jewish laws. When appliances are put into Sabbath Mode, certain features may be modified or disabled to accommodate these religious practices. Sabbath Mode can be found on a number of appliances, including some refrigerators, ovens, ranges and wine refrigerators. Select Whirlpool brand appliances with Sabbath Mode are STAR-K certified, which means it has met certain requirements to be considered Kosher. An appliance with Sabbath Mode can function like a Kosher appliance. (via Whirlpool)

Vienna still has six impressive World War II flak-gun towers

Acknowledgements: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other newsletters that I rely on as "serendipity engines," such as The Morning News from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg's Curious About Everything, Dan Lewis's Now I Know, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton's The Browser, Clive Thompson's Linkfest, Noah Brier and Colin Nagy's Why Is This Interesting, Maria Popova's The Marginalian, Sheehan Quirke AKA The Cultural Tutor, the Smithsonian magazine, and JSTOR Daily. If you come across something interesting that you think should be included here, please feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com