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It was a bad day for the USS Shark on September 10th, 1846, when she tried to cross a shoal to leave the Columbia River in Oregon. The Shark was a 12 gun schooner built in the Washington (DC) Navy Yard in 1821 for the US Navy, and was originally captained by Matthew Perry. The ship was built with a shallower draft than existent Navy ships for anti-piracy and anti-slavery work, which took her to the West Indies and the west coast of Africa. She spent five years in the Mediterranean protecting American interests there.
She was armed with 10 18 pounder carronades and 2 other 9 pound guns. When she later washed up on the beach, 3 of her carronades were exposed, one of which was dragged up on the beach. It is now in a museum on Cannon Beach, named for the recovered cannon. The other two were found in 2008 and recovered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and sent to Texas A&M University for conservation.
The Conservation Research Laboratory primarily does recovered maritime and ship conservation projects, and have several on their plate, They are also currently working on the artifacts recovered from the sunken city of Port Royal, Jamaica, a haven for pirates in the 17th Century, and the French ship, the Belle, lost near Texas.
Pictures from Texas A&M University's Conservation Research Laboratory website
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A Harrier Jump Jet was pulled from Ebay for violating it's policy of selling guns and weapons, according to the BBC. The jet is primarily a shell obtained from a museum in England, with the weapons and equipment long removed by the RAF, and this jet body was restored by Chris Wilson of Jet Art, in the Leeds/Bradford neighborhoods in England. This particular Harrier model is reportedly one of four left in the world. There does seem to be plenty of interest in this aircraft, as there were plenty of bids before it was yanked on Ebay. He should be able to sell it easily, as he has already sold seven Harriers in the past.
The jet was pretty much scrap before Mr. Wilson and his comrades at Jet Art went to work on it in a farm in Queensbury. The work was all done outside and included a paint job, tires, and weapons pods. The end result would make a great yard ornament, replacing your average garden gnome. Only £69,999 is the asking price, and the bid was almost there before the auction was terminated. To buy this jet, just email