Watercooler Stories

Search is on for historic naval vessel

YORKSHIRE, England, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. and British naval crews will search this July for the underwater wreckage of the Bonhomme Richard, a battleship sunk during the American Revolution.

The vessel, captained by John Paul Jones, has long been considered one of the most historically significant artifacts from the war.

The search will focus on a 20 square-mile area off the coast of Yorkshire, England, and employ high-tech underwater scanning equipment, The Independent reported. Two other teams will also join the search for the ship.

The National Underwater and Marine Agency and a local team of divers from Yorkshire also plan to look for Bonhomme Richard this summer.

The battle in which the vessel was lost was the first naval victory in U.S. history and was critical in winning the support of the French for the revolutionary war.

Parishioners told to stop kneeling

LOS ANGELES, May 29 (UPI) -- A Southern California Catholic priest is telling his parishioners to stop kneeling at a certain point during the mass or get out of his church.

The Rev. Martin Tran, pastor at St. Mary's by the Sea in Huntington Beach, Calif., has told his flock that kneeling "is clearly rebellion, grave disobedience and mortal sin," The Los Angeles Times reported.

At least 55 parishioners have received letters from church leaders urging them to get off their knees or quit St. Mary's and the Diocese of Orange.

Since at least the seventh century, Catholics have been kneeling after the Agnus Dei, when the priest holds up the chalice and consecrated bread and says, "Behold the lamb of God."

Four years ago, the Vatican decided to allow bishops to decide whether their flocks should get on their knees.

Traditionalists see it as a posture of submission to and adoration of God, and modernists view kneeling as the vestige of a feudal past they would like to leave behind, the newspaper said.

Orange County parishioners are still allowed to kneel at other points in the mass, including the Eucharistic prayers.

Hefty Indian diamond heads for auction

NEW DELHI, May 29 (UPI) -- A 13.53-carat Indian diamond whose worth is estimated at over $1 million will be up for auction this June, the Times of India reported Sunday.

The diamond comes from the internationally renowned Golconda mines in Eastern India, the same place as the infamous Blue Hope diamond, the newspaper said.

The diamond, which will be auctioned June 1 by Christie's of Hong Kong, is the first in two years to receive the distinction of being certified a Golconda diamond, one of superior clarity and transparency, the Times said.

The Golconda mines do not have the output of mines in Australia, Africa, and Canada, making this diamond even rarer in the global marketplace.

Christie's refused to discuss how it acquired the diamond, citing a longstanding policy of anonymity for sellers.

Pardon her dust: Author's ashes to move?

BALTIMORE, May 29 (UPI) -- The NAACP is deciding whether to move from Baltimore to Washington, and fans of author Dorothy Parker are wondering if her remains will be moved as well.

Parker, the witty and often-quoted New York writer, has been buried in a memorial garden near the NAACP headquarters since 1988, the Baltimore Sun said Sunday.

Her ashes sat unclaimed for 15 years after her death because her will did not specify where she was to be buried. Ironically, Parker did not care for the city of Baltimore during her life, her biographer, Marion Meade, said.

Parker died in 1967 and bequeathed her estate to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When he was assassinated in 1968, her remains became the property of the NAACP, which Parker's will specified.

Her memorial continues to receive the occasional visitor, the Sun said, and her fans hope that a suitable replacement for the garden can be built or found in Washington. The NAACP has pledged to find a new memorial site.