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    • The New York family owned it for decades, then they saw a similar piece in an ad

      They say one man's junk is another man's treasure and that couldn't be more true about a rare Ming Dynasty vase that just sold at a U.S. auction.

      It was being used by an unidentified family in Long Island as a doorstop. Don't they know holding doors open is what old computers are for? The vase, which sat on a wooden stand, had belonged to the family for decades, until someone noticed a similar piece in a Sotheby's ad. The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1364 until 1644 so the vase is at least 368 years old.

      The auction house initially estimated it would sell for between $600,000 and $900,000, but it went for more than a million. The vase sold as part of the Sotheby's sale of Chinese works of art this past week.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Elvis Presley's soiled underwear fails to sell at auction ]

      In addition to the blue and white vase, other highlights of the auction included a jade imperial seal from the Qing dynasty

      Read More »from Ming Dynasty vase used as doorstop sells at auction for $1.3M
    • From a real bird's-eye view courtesy of a seagull stealing a camera to a massive Canadian QR code corn maze, we've seen some fascinating footage this week. Here are some of our favourite videos:

      1. Seagull takes camera for flight

      If you've ever wondered what a bird's-eye view is actually like check out this video. A seagull in San Francisco picked up a camera and took it for a ride. The woman, a tourist from France, was filming the sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge when the bird yanked the camera. She managed to track it down on a nearby sidewalk and found it was still intact and had about 20 seconds of new footage. According to Yahoo!'s Trending Now blog, some are saying the video is a fake and could be part of a marketing hoax.

      This isn't the first time we've got a good view of what animals see. Last year a seagull pulled the same move, grabbing a camera and flying through the French city of Cannes. And shortly before that, a photographer in Africa was hoping to get a

      Read More »from Must-see videos of the week – September 14
    • Dave Park thought his bike was gone and then he noticed a man riding a cool bike

      More than 3,100 bikes were reported stolen in Toronto last year, but thanks to good eyes and brave action, Dave Park was able to get his back.

      His thousand-dollar bicycle disappeared from his garage two weeks ago and like most people who have their bikes stolen, he thought it was gone for good.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Regina Mayor apologizes for foul odour ]

      "A police report was filed but I was left resigned to accept the loss and move on," Park wrote on YouTube.

      And then while he was driving a few days ago he noticed someone riding his bike.

      "At first I thought: Oh, that's a cool bike," he told the Toronto Star. Then he noticed the customized handlebars, special seat and black grips with red stars and realized it was his. "I could believe it. I was kind of like I hooked a big fish...I just needed to act."

      Park's fiancée, Vanessa Crossley, started filming as they followed the cyclist into the alleyway and

      Read More »from Toronto cyclist gets stolen bike back after confronting rider
    • The stench wafting into the city is coming from a broken sewage lagoon

      Many cities or areas have their own unique smells, but the mayor of Regina is apologizing for the smell in his city.

      Mayor Pat Fiacco issued a formal apology to residents because a foul stench is wafting over the west and northwest parts of the city from a wastewater treatment plant.

      "I want to sit in my backyard, I want to enjoy a barbecue in my backyard, I want to sleep with my window open - I can't right now and nor can the majority of citizens affected by this in north-west Regina," said Fiacco sympathizing with fellow residents. "And they have a right to be upset."

      [ More Daily Buzz: Woman finds ex-boyfriend living in her attic ]

      Despite it being called a sewage lagoon, it usually isn't smelly. But city officials say a blower that pumps oxygen into the water is broken and that is causing low oxygen levels. That combined with warm temperatures and an aging infrastructure are causing the stink.

      While Regina may

      Read More »from Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco apologizes for foul odour
    • Old houses tend to creak and make all sorts of noises. Most of the time, it's the pipes. Sometimes it's a little critter scurrying across the floor, or a rusty door jamb.

      And then, every once in a while, it's your convict ex-boyfriend hiding out in your attic.

      As the Charlotte Observer reports, a single mother of five received the unwanted houseguest-related fright of her life when she discovered the 44-year-old man living in the space above her bedroom.

      Tracy (who asked reporters not to print her last name) had dated the man 12 years prior, but broke up with him after he robbed a flower shop and went off to jail.

      On Saturday night, she told the Observer she began to feel something was out of the ordinary.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Woman detained from flight because of 'bad' attitude at Houston airport ]

      Aside from strange noises, she noticed insulation falling from the ceiling.

      Then at 2:30 a.m., the sleepless North Carolina woman witnessed nails popping out from the ceiling and falling to

      Read More »from Woman finds ex-boyfriend living in her attic
    • Police are still looking for the real one that went missing

      A Sri Lankan thief may have been trying to pull a page from an Ontario man's book when he stole a diamond by swallowing it.

      Police arrested Chou Wan, 32, after someone complained he swallowed a diamond at a jewelry show last week. Chou was taken to the hospital where X-rays confirmed the presence of the gem. He was given a laxative so the authorities could recover it.

      [ Related: Swallowed diamond gives Windsor police dirty job ]

      But it appeared Chou's efforts were for not when the National Gem and Jewelry Authority examined the diamond and found it to be a fake. That's when police determined his work was part of a bigger scam — that Chou may have swallowed the fake diamond as a diversion while an accomplice stole the real one.

      Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana told The Associated Press that investigators believe another Chinese man may have stolen the actual diamond, which is worth about $13,000. One person at the exhibit thought

      Read More »from Jewel thief swallows fake diamond as part of a ‘brilliant’ scam
    • A warning for all future travelers irritated by the lengthy airport screening process: Take it all in with a smile, or risk getting booted from your flight.

      That's the hard lesson one woman learned after she claims a U.S. Transport Security Administration officer barred her from boarding the plane due to her "bad attitude."

      Shaky cell phone footage of the exchange at a Houston airport was captured and uploaded to YouTube.

      In the video's written introduction, the uploader says that even though she passed through airport security, she stoked the ire of a TSA agent by drinking her water instead of allowing them to "test" it.

      During the 22-second recording, the agent, identified as Louis Godeaux, can be heard admitting that he took umbrage at the woman's attitude and that he had a legal right to keep her on the ground for that reason alone.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Woman breaks record as oldest yoga instructor ]

      Transcript from the video (via Good Morning America) reads as follows:

      Woman: Do

      Read More »from Woman detained from flight because of ‘bad’ attitude at Houston airport
    • Olga Kostina has put more than 30,000 plastic caps on her house in colourful mosaics

      A retired Russian woman has found a way to liven up her simple wooden house in a rural part of the county.

      [ Related: More photos of the bottle cap home ]

      Olga Kostina makes colourful mosaics on the outside walls of her house entirely out of plastic bottle caps.

      She lives in the Siberian taiga, which is known for its natural beauty but also has a population density of about three people per square kilometre. So to pass the time, Kostina started collecting bottle caps and when she has enough she starts decorating.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Woman breaks record as oldest yoga instructor ]

      She has placed all of the 30,000 plus caps on the walls by herself using a hammer and nails. She uses a technique known as macrame to create the intricate patterns and plans to keep going until all the walls of her house and other structures are covered.

      (Reuters photos)

      Read More »from Russian woman decorates home with 30,000 bottle caps
    • It's been suggested that yoga keeps you young, and Ida Herbert is pretty much the living embodiment of that statement.

      The 96-year-old recently made this year's Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most senior yoga instructor ("oldest" just doesn't seem like the right descriptor in this case).

      The irrepressible Herbert has been perfecting her sun salutations since the 1960s, or roughly three decades before yoga became the exercise of choice for the latte set.

      "I don't think I talked about it to anyone. If I did, I would just say 'I'm going to the health club,'" she told the Canadian Press of her early days.

      Yoga teacher snags world record at 96 years oldAt 96, Ida Herbert now holds the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest yoga teacher. Herbert says she started practising yoga in the late 1940s, and it continues to make her a more relaxed person.

      She's been a certified yoga instructor for the last 20 years, where she continues to teach at studios around Orillia, Ontario.

      Read More »from 96-year-old Ida Herbert makes the record books as world’s oldest yoga instructor
    • The increased number of students and lack of space is forcing the school to be creative

      A portable on the school grounds may be one thing, but some Dalhousie engineering students are taking classes in a much different location.

      They aren't going on a field trip, but are going to a nearby movie theatre, reports The Chronicle Herald. The growing number of students and lack of classrooms is forcing the school to be creative with where students can learn and is paying the theatre $54,000 per year to use it during the daytime.

      [ More Daily Buzz: Magician jailed for making cash 'disappear' ]

      "Subconsciously, you want to be watching a movie but you're not," said student Josh Jobin to the paper. "It's not a horrible idea. I like it."

      The large padded seats may make it easier for students to fall asleep, but the instructor's voice gains authority when his or her mic is plugged into the Dolby surround sound system.

      However, not everyone is liking the idea. Pemberton Cyrus, the engineering

      Read More »from Dalhousie engineering students trading lecture hall for movie theatre

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