Wednesday, 1 January 2020

Antiques Roadshow pro accidentally tastes urine dating back to the 1840s

Thinking it was a really old bottle of alcohol, Antiques Roadshow expert Andy McConnell took a tiny drink of some brown mystery liquid in a 2016 episode. Repulsed by the taste, the glass expert said, "I think it's port - port or red wine... or it's full of rusty old nails and that's rust." In a new episode, the show's host, Fiona Bruce, has now revealed that he was partially right. There was rust, as well as urine, a single human hair, and a couple other things.

Independent:

"Inside were these brass pins, all of these dating from the late 1840s, and the liquid – urine, a tiny pit of alcohol and one human hair," explained Bruce.

"And a mysterious little creature called an ostracod, which is like a little cockle. So [this] was not a bottle of port or wine, but a witches bottle.

"So buried in the threshold of the house as a talisman against witchcraft, against curses, against misfortune coming into the home."

McConnell replied: "Yummy. Such good news."

screenshot via News 247 Live