Idiot of the Week: Man who fled N.H. police at 127 mph, Caught in Rental Car

This week's idiot from Connecticut was not only doing twice the legal speed limit, but doing it in a rental car. Here's the story from New England.

(Photo: Benjamin Saxon, 22, of East Hartford, Connecticut, allegedly drove 127 mph and evaded police for over a month. Credit: NH State Police) 

Man who allegedly fled N.H. police at 127 mph caught later because he was driving a rental car 

Boston.Com: By Susannah Sudborough, January 19, 2023

After an investigation that took over a month, New Hampshire State Police have arrested a Connecticut man they say drove 127 mph before fleeing police in early December.

The man initially evaded police, but was caught after police found him through the car-sharing app he used to acquire the car, Turo.

Benjamin Saxon, 22, of East Hartford, has been charged with two counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, unauthorized use of rented property worth more than $1,500, falsifying physical evidence, two counts of disobeying an officer, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle without lights.

New Hampshire State Police said in a news release Thursday that on Dec. 8, 2022, a trooper was monitoring traffic on I-93 north in Tilton when a 2018 BMW 330XI passed her going 101 mph.

The trooper pulled out behind the car, which then allegedly sped up to 127 mph, police said. She turned on her emergency lights and siren, but the driver, later identified as Saxon, allegedly refused to stop.

The trooper pursued the car on I-93 through Sanbornton, Meredith, New Hampton, and Plymouth, police said. During the chase, Saxon allegedly drove at excessive speeds, swerved dangerously through lanes, and turned off the car’s lights to help him evade the trooper.

Ultimately, another trooper was able to use a tire deflation device on the car, police said. The car left the highway into Plymouth and came to a stop on Tenney Mountain Highway, but when troopers got to the car, Saxon had fled.

Through their investigation, police learned that Saxon did not own the car, but rented it through Turo, an app that lets car owners loan their vehicles to other drivers. Police said they provided Turo with warrants and were then able to identify Saxon as the driver.

Saxon was arrested and arraigned on Jan. 18 and released on personal recognizance bail. He is due back in Belknap Superior Court on Feb. 16.

Hero of the Week: Mystery nurse saves Westford man’s life in Massachusetts

This week's hero is a nurse who saved a man's life and chose to remain anonymous. The nurse happened to be in the area when a 63-year-old man needed CPR and she provided it until paramedics arrived. Here's the story from Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

  ‘Nobody knows who she is or where she came from’: Mystery nurse saves Westford man’s life

63-year-old Tommy Florentino is now recovered, but wants to thank the person who saved his life.

January 18, 2023 Boston.com By Eli Curwin

Family members and loved ones of a Westford man are looking for the nurse that provided him life-saving CPR in front of a Walmart in Tewksbury Jan. 11 afternoon.

63-year-old Tommy Florentino and his brother Elmer Florentino had just left a Home Depot to go to a friend’s house when Tommy suddenly collapsed onto the car’s dashboard. A police officer and an unidentified nurse provided several minutes of CPR, likely saving Tommy Florentino’s life.

“She’s an angel on our shoulders,” Elmer Florentino told NBC10 Boston. “She came out of nowhere to help.”

The two brothers were on their way to see their longtime friends Mark and Lisa Paradis when Tommy slumped onto the car’s dashboard and his eyes rolled back in his head while they were waiting for a red light. Elmer slapped him with the back of his hand, but his brother remained unresponsive.

Elmer then immediately called 9-1-1 as he pulled into a nearby Walmart, where a police cruiser arrived on the scene while Elmer was on the phone with emergency dispatchers.

“Someone up in heaven was watching out for him,” Lisa Paradis told Boston.com. “Everything just connected.”

As the officer provided CPR, an unknown woman, who identified herself as a registered nurse, offered to provide support. The nurse took over, providing the necessary support to the seizing Tommy Florentino before paramedics arrived.

“Nobody knows who she is or where she came from,” Lisa Paradis said. “She left in the commotion of them getting in the ambulance because the EMT’s were still doing CPR on him … and they just didn’t get her name.”

Tommy regained consciousness after arriving in the hospital, but does not remember what happened in between leaving Home Depot and waking up.

The 63-year-old was released from the hospital Wednesday night, and remains under doctor’s supervision for additional testing. Elmer Florentino says his brother is “doing great,” but with no history of seizures, it is unclear what caused the emergency.

Book: The Ten Cent Plague: How Comics were Stupidly Censored in the 1950s-1970s

 As we as a country have learned over and over again, it takes one nut job to ruin things for the masses.  Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy created the hysteria of McCarthyism with his controversial practices and policies and false accusations of communism from the late 1940s through the 1950s.  Back in the 1950s, wackos even attacked COMIC BOOKS. Yes, Comic books. Today's blog is about the book "The Ten Cent Plague" by David Hajdu, which covers the history of those idiots.  I'll explain who and how and why Comics were severely censored and what the ridiculous Comics Code Authority was. Glad all that crap is over! 

NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIP HATERS- IDIOTS #1 - In the early 1900s, Ladies Home Journal and this idiot, Ralph Bergengren started it with an article in the Atlantic Monthly calling newspaper comic strips a "national shame and degradation."

IDIOT #2 -  In 1941, Sterling North, an American Author   "warned "  that the “Superman heroics” and “cheap political propaganda” found in comic books were “furnishing a pre-fascist pattern for the youth of America through the principle of emulation.” 

BIGGEST IDIOT  WHO LED CENSORING COMIC BOOKS -  A total Conservative NUTJOB Fredric Wertham. now known as the "comic industry’s real-life supervillain," wrote in 1954 a book called SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT.  He called comic books "evil, twisted, vile, disgusting," and said that parents who let their kids read comic books were a "disgrace." That's all it took for churches and schools and other conservatives to join in.

WHAT HE CAUSED - Comic book sales capsized, and over 400 titles went under. Wertham’s book sparked a Senate Subcommittee Hearing into Juvenile Delinquency that forced publishers to adopt the Comics Code or face government censorship. No single author has had a larger or more negative impact on comics, and his arguments “made no sense.”   

Nothing like a good "Book Ban" or "Book Burnings" by conservatives.   That's all it took. 

WHAT IT CAUSED - Comics were the one thing that young people could read for entertainment that allowed them to be creative, and inspired them to write stories, draw, and try to be a hero. 

• Churches and Parents went BONKERS.  
• They had massive comic book burnings in public bonfires. Seriously.  
• Cities actually passed laws to outlaw comics. Conservatives in Congress took action with televised hearings that nearly destroyed the careers of hundreds of artists and writers.

THE RIDICULOUS "COMICS CODE AUTHORITY" - The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. The code was voluntary; there was no law requiring its use, although some advertisers and retailers looked to it for reassurance. Some publishers including Dell, Western, and Classics Illustrated never used it. Its code, commonly called "the Comics Code", lasted until the early 21st century. The CC formation followed a moral panic centered around a series of Senate hearings and the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent.

 WHAT IT DID -   It restricted the publishers’ ability to depict crime and violence, making stories starring police officers and Western lawmen less appealing to kids. 

It also banned using the words "Weird" and "Horror." It prevented artists from drawing people anatomically correct (they had to look like benign, unattractive or plain people).   By  2011  the code completely defunct. 

A Look at Types of Winter Precipitation & Black Ice

 As a meteorologist, I've heard people get confused over various forms of Winter precipitation. Here's a page from the National Weather Service to explain the types to you: Snow, Sleet, Freezing Rain and Rain (and I added Black Ice, although not a precip type, it's a winter hazard).   IMPORTANT NOTE:  Hail is NOT a wintertime thing, unless you have strong Thunderstorms. Hail is caused by updrafts pushing raindrops high into thunderstorms, causing them to freeze and drop . Here's your Winter Precipitation lesson: 

(Image: Winter precipitation types. Credit: National Weather Service) 

Different types of winter precipitation & Black Ice

It is important to know the difference between snow, sleet and freezing rain.

(Photo below: Snow in Berwick, Maine, January 2023. Credit: MaineNewsNow)

1) Snow forms when the entire layer of air is sub-freezing. Snow consists of ice crystals and is white and fluffy.

2) Sleet forms when the layer of sub-freezing air is fairly deep at 3,000 to 4,000  feet. This allows time for the water droplet to freeze into a tiny piece of ice and become sleet as it falls to the surface. Precipitation in the wintertime that falls as tiny ice pellets is sleet.  

(Photo above, right: Sleet falls as clear ice pellets. Photo by Ranveig via Wikimedia Commons.) 

(Photo above: Freezing rain on a branch. Credit: NOAA Photo Library/Mike Shelby, Maryland)

3) Freezing rain forms when the sub-freezing layer is very shallow. At 2,000 feet from the surface, temperatures are above freezing, so any precipitation that falls is liquid. Once rain hits that shallow, cold air near the surface, it freezes on contact with any object.

(Photo above: Rain on a window in July in Maryland. Credit: R.G.)

4) Rain is water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere.  Since we all know what it is, you may not know the origin of the word. The word comes from the Middle English "rein," which comes from Old English word, "regn"  meaning-  "rain, descent of water in drops through the atmosphere," and that was taken from Proto-Germanic *regna." - So the word has morphed over the centuries to the "rain" we know today.

(Photo above: Black ice resulting from melting snow. Credit: https://www.lakewingra.org/) 

5) Black Ice - Although not a form of precipitation, black ice occurs when a surface is wet from melting snow or rain, and freezes when temperatures drop below 32F/0C. Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a thin coating of glaze ice on a surface, especially on streets. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it.

 

Fred the Groundhog Died Before His Feb 2nd Event

 Like that 1970s song by Curtis Mayfield (Freddie is dead) I'm guessing it doesn't bode well for the winter when the groundhog dies before he's supposed to see his shadow. That's what happened last week in Canada.. Fred la marmotte, Canada's groundhog, was found dead hours before the Groundhog Day prediction. Of course, he was 9 years old, 6 years older than a groundhog's life expectancy. 

Fred la marmotte, Canada's groundhog, found dead hours before Groundhog Day prediction 

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, Feb 2, 2023

It was a somber Groundhog Day in Canada, as Fred la marmotte – the beloved groundhog who predicted weather – was found dead hours before he could take part in his annual tradition.

The Groundhog Day event in Val-d'Espoir, Quebec in eastern Canada began Thursday morning with music and dancing, but as it came closer for Fred to make his weather prediction, event organizers told the crowd of the groundhog's death.

"In life, the only thing that's certain is that nothing is certain," said event organizer Roberto Blondin. "Well, this year it's true. It's true and it's unfortunate. I announce to you the death of Fred."

How did Fred la marmotte die?

Blondin said he had attempted to wake up Fred from hibernation overnight to get him ready for the festival, but there were "no vital signs" present.

Typically, Fred would be moved for his enclosed barn to a log cabin that would be heated, which would wake him, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Blondin believes Fred died in hibernation late last year.

Fred was 9-years-old, organizers said, living far longer than the average life expectancy of three years, according to Terminix.

Groundhog Day festivities continue

Despite the death of Fred, the Groundhog Day festivities went on in Val-d'Espoir, as Blondin said Fred would have wished for a child to take his place in predicting the weather.

Part 2: The Ugliest Buildings in the U.K.

This is Part 2 of the "Ugly Buildings" Blog.  I always take note of articles about great and awful architecture, because I'm married to an architect,   Recently, Buildworld's website did a story about the ugliest buildings in the U.S. and the U.K. - This is part 2 of 2 blogs and features the U.K. Ugly Building Winners! 

The Provincial Train Stations Blighting the UK's Built Landscape

The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh leads the ugly league by a significant percentage in the UK, but a pair of train stations are also breaking free of the pack. Newport and Preston train stations both have a >20% ugliness rating on Twitter. Both are former contenders in the Carbunkle Cup, an annual prize for the UK's ugliest new building.

Part 1: The Ugliest Buildings in the U.S.

Since I'm married to an architect, I always take note of articles about great and awful architecture. Recently, Buildworld's website did a story about the ugliest buildings in the U.S. and the U.K. - This is part one of 2 blogs and features the U.S. Ugly Building Winners! 

Big Box Buildings Among America's Ugliest

Over one-third of tweets about the J. Edgar Hoover Building are negative in sentiment. And yes, it’s not pretty — but there’s a certain Minecraft-y charm about the blocky brutalist monolith. The FBI HQ was fashionable, practical and even a little utopian when it was designed in the 1960s (an open courtyard for agents to eat lunch, files safely archived deep in the core of the building). But today, its very bulk evokes the worst of 20th-century politics and the 21st-century surveillance state.

Idiot of the Week: George Santos: Scammed Money from a Veteran and Dying Dog

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has been all over the news for lying about everything on his resume. More and more information comes out daily about thie living piece of lying living refuse. Today's blog names him idiot for one of the most despicable acts- He used a disabled veteran whose service dog needed lifesaving surgery - and created a "Go Fund Me" site for the veteran's dog's surgery, but Santos took the $3,000, closed it and disappeared. Santos has apparently been using two other names to scam others. Since the GOP continues to allow Santos to stay in his position on Capitol Hill, that says a lot about them (none of it good). Here's the story.

(Photo: US Navy vet Richard Osthoff has accused Rep George Santos of conning him of $3K which he raised for his cancer-stricken dog in 2016 (Facebook/Rich Osthoff, Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Veteran Says George Santos Used Him And His Dying Dog For A Fundraising Scam 

The New York congressman allegedly raised $3,000 for the service dog's surgery and disappeared, Patch reports.

Josephine HarveyJan 17, 2023, H.Post

A disabled veteran has accused newly-elected Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) of fundraising for his service dog’s lifesaving surgery and then disappearing with the money, local news site Patch reported Tuesday.

Richard Osthoff, a U.S. Navy veteran, told Patch Santos conned him in 2016 while he was living in a tent on the side of a highway in Howell, New Jersey, with his beloved dog Sapphire. Sapphire was diagnosed with a life-threatening stomach tumor, and Osthoff was quoted $3,000 for the surgery to remove it.

According to Osthoff, a veterinary technician told him he knew a guy who could help: Anthony Devolder, who ran Friends of Pets United, a pet charity.

USING FAKE NAMES

Anthony Devolder is one of the names that Santos, whose full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos, used among an array of aliases, including George Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky.

George Santos has resisted calls to resign despite revelations he fabricated large swaths of his resume on the campaign trail.

The lawmaker faces multiple federal and local investigations after revelations that he fabricated much of his background, including his education, work experience and heritage. He is also being investigated for campaign finance violations after allegedly misusing campaign funds, lying about how his campaign spent money and hiding the origin of campaign funds.

In December, The New York Times reported that, among other discrepancies in the resume Santos pitched to voters, there was little evidence that his charity, Friends of Pets United, was a tax-exempt organization like he claimed. The Internal Revenue Service apparently had no records of a registered charity with that name.

Osthoff and another New Jersey veteran, retired police Sgt. Michael Boll, who was helping Osthoff as the situation evolved in 2016, told Patch that Santos set up a GoFundMe for Sapphire’s surgery.

They claimed that when it reached $3,000, he closed it and became increasingly difficult to contact.

In a July 2016 Facebook post, Osthoff thanked supporters for helping him reach his fundraising goal. He shared a link to a since-deleted GoFundMe page. The preview of the link shows that it was created “by Anthony Devolder.”

But, according to Osthoff, when he tried to schedule Sapphire’s procedure, Santos then insisted Osthoff take Sapphire to another vet clinic ― that he purportedly had a relationship with ― which said it couldn’t operate on the tumor. Santos then claimed he would take the money raised for Sapphire and use it for “other dogs,” Osthoff said.

In a November 2016 Facebook post, Osthoff told supporters that he had been “scammed by Anthony Devolder” and that Sapphire was facing euthanasia within months, according to a screenshot published by Patch.

Sapphire died the following year.

One of Santos’ former roommates, Gregory Morey-Parker, was interviewed several times on CNN this week about Santos, who he said he lived with for a few months in 2020.

Morey-Parker said he knew Santos by two names: Anthony Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky and he had “never known him as George Santos.” According to Morey-Parker, Santos said he used the name Zabrovsky for his pet charity because he believed “the Jews will give more if you’re a Jew.”

A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately return a request for comment.

Good News: Veterans in suicidal crisis eligible for free mental health care

 This week's Good News is about extended benefits to Veterans. Here's the story.

Veterans in suicidal crisis eligible for free mental health care

January 17, 2023, 11:29 AM WTOP News WTOP.com /Stetson Miller | stetson.miller@wtop.com

Veterans experiencing a suicidal crisis will have access to free emergency health care starting Tuesday (Jan 13, 2023).

Under a new policy from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans can go to any VA facility or private facility to get free treatment. Veterans can also be reimbursed for up to 30 days of patient or crisis residential care and 90 days of outpatient care.

Veterans who aren’t enrolled in VA benefits are also eligible for the policy. The change is expected to expand access for acute suicide care to 9 million veterans, the department said in a news release.

The VA said that transportation costs related to getting care will also be covered.

The agency said that the effort is a key part of its 10-year National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide and the Biden-Harris administration’s plan for Reducing Military and Veteran Suicide.

“Veterans in suicidal crisis can now receive the free, world-class emergency health care they deserve — no matter where they need it, when they need it, or whether they’re enrolled in VA care,” Denis McDonough, Secretary for Veterans Affairs, said in a statement. “This expansion of care will save Veterans’ lives, and there’s nothing more important than that.”

Veterans eligible for the benefits include:

• Those who were discharged or released from active duty after more than 24 months of active service under conditions other than dishonorable.
• Former members of the armed forces, including reserve service members, who served more than 100 days under a combat exclusion or in support of a contingency operation either directly or by operating an unmanned aerial vehicle from another location who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
• Former members of the armed forces who were the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, a battery of a sexual nature or sexual harassment while serving in the armed forces.

According to the 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, 6,146 veterans died by suicide in 2020.

The VA has said that veteran suicide prevention is its highest clinical priority.

The U.S. Recognizes Country of Turkey now as Türkiye

 When is a turkey not a turkey- when it's a country that changes the spelling of its name. That's what happened in June 2022 with the country formerly known as Turkey.

The State Department will begin spelling Turkey as Türkiye 

January 8, 20235:00 AM ET NPR

The State Department will start spelling Turkey as "Türkiye" in diplomatic and formal settings.

The name change was approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names following a request from the Turkish embassy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed on Thursday.

The State Department, which handles America's foreign policy, is the latest federal agency to adopt the spelling change.

Price said it will take some time for the department's website and communications to reflect the new spelling. The Board on Geographic Names also gave the department the option to continue to use "Turkey" and "Republic of Turkey" when appropriate. For instance, the previous spelling is allowed in cartographic products because it is more widely understood by the American public.

The name change also comes six months after the United Nations agreed to recognize Türkiye in June.

The current State Department pronunciation will remain unchanged, according to The Associated Press, which first reported the change. The name change is not only symbolic but a rebranding effort. Turkish people have called their country Türkiye since 1923 when the Ottoman Empire fell and the Turkish Republic was formed.

FUN PUNS!! Winners of Massachusetts' Name a Snowplow contest

 There's nothing more rewarding to read than a good pun. This year the state of Massachusetts asked schools around the state to submit names for snowplows and they're full of great puns. This list really shows the creativity of students, too. Enjoy the list of puns! 

The winners of Mass.' "Name a Snowplow contest" are in

"Luke Snowalker" and "Blizzard of Oz" are among the winning names of MassDOT's snowplow naming contest.

By Morgan Rousseau, Boston.com

January 22, 2023

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The winners of Massachusetts’ first-ever snowplow naming contest came up with several pun-tastic names, including “Sled Zeppelin,” “Luke Snowalker” and “Blizzard of Oz.”

The contest kicked off in November and invited schoolchildren to submit name ideas for 12 new state-owned snowplows to represent their elementary and middle school classrooms. Submissions were due on Dec. 23, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced the contest winners Friday.

2023 winning MassDOT snowplow names

• Blizzard of Oz – Boston’s James F. Condon School, 5th grade 
• Sherlock Snowmes – Somerville’s John F. Kennedy School, 4th grade 
• Snow Big Deal – Malden’s TEC Connections Academy Online School, 5th grade 
• Blizzard Wizard – Boylston’s Tahanto Regional Middle School, 8th grade 
• Luke Snowalker – Westfield’s Munger Hill School, 3rd grade 
• Plower Ranger – Fitchburg’s Reingold Elementary School, 1st grade 
• Snowdrop – Stoughton’s Wilkins Elementary School, kindergarten 
• Arctic Beast – Canton’s JFK Elementary School, 2nd grade 
• Sled Zeppelin – Shelburne Falls’ Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School, 6th grade 
• Snow Day No Way – Hadley Elementary School 5th grade 
• Snow Time to Lose – Attleboro’s Wamsutta Middle School, 7th grade 
• Flurry Fighter – Pittsfield’s Crosby Elementary School, 4th grade 

“Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all the participating classrooms for submitting hundreds of creative and unique plow names,” MassDOT tweeted Friday. 

Students in kindergarten through grade 8 were able to participate in the contest for a chance to have the winning names affixed to a snowplow in their school district. Winners will also get a personal visit from a local snowplow and a $100 gift card for school supplies.  

After MassDOT announced the contest, Boston.com invited readers to weigh in with their own snowplow names. Suggestions included “Drew Bledsnow,” “No More Mr. Ice Guy,” “Sleet Caroline” and “The Big LePlowski.”

(Photo of snow in York County, Maine from January 2023. Credit: Mainenewsnow) 

Archaeology: Pompeii's House Of Vettii reopens to the public after 20 years (w/Video)

If you've never been to Pompeii, it's an amazing and haunting place. The structures of the city reveal so much that was lost after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buried the city in 79 AD. The construction of houses, frescos, fountains, streets with drainage, aqueducts, symbols to identify streets and businesses, fountains, courtyards and more are a sight to see. Recently, the Historic Site reopened the house of Wine Merchants after 20 years of restoration, and it's amazing. In today's blog, you'll see a picture and a great VIDEO tour of the home.

Pompeii's House of Vettii Reopens to the Public after 20 years

Pompeii Sites.org - Click for link

The House of the Vettii, the iconic house of Pompeii, is reopening. It is always included in guides to the UNESCO World Heritage site and books on ancient art as a result of its extraordinary frescoes and the sculptures that adorned the large garden.

After a period of closure lasting twenty years with a partial reopening in 2016 – confined to the entrance of the atrium and surrounding areas – visitors will finally be able to admire the House of the Vettii in all its architectural complexity as a result of recent restoration work.

RESTORATION:  The new restoration project, which began in 2016 under the direction of Massimo Osanna, has involved a wide range of professionals including archaeologists, architects, restorers, engineers, structural engineers and experts on gardening.

It stands out as one of the most complex archaeological heritage restoration projects of the last few decades. It has proved particularly difficult to remove the layers of wax applied to the frescoes in the past with the intention of protecting and enhancing them. Unfortunately, this restoration method has proved to be extremely harmful and has obscured many of the details of the elegant paintings, with depictions of fantastic architecture and mythological scenes.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ff6BM3ioSJc 

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 The house has been included in the list of buildings that will remain open on a permanent basis to visitors in 2023.

THE HOUSE:  The garden of the peristyle (colonnaded garden), which had a complex system of water channels and small fountains, has been restored with the inclusion of copies of the original statues, including a unique statue of its kind depicting Priapus, the god of fertility. The statues are kept in the display areas of the Archaeological Park. The garden also has ancient species of plants cultivated in the nursery within the Park as a part of a more wide-ranging project designed to enhance historic gardens and the cultivation of green areas of the ancient city through partnerships with local farmers and plant growers.

Excavated between 1894 and 1896, the House of the Vettii belonged to Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus, probably two freedmen brothers who had become rich through commerce in wine. The magnificent paintings and sculptures in the house also reflect the wealth of the territory of Pompeii, where wine was produced for export throughout the Mediterranean, and social mobility which enabled two former slaves to reach the upper echelons of local society.

There are various traces of the life of the poor, in particular a room adjoining the kitchen in the slaves’ quarters which is decorated with small erotic paintings. The room was originally fitted with an iron door to ensure that access was restricted only to adult men. The barrier was removed only a few days prior to the re-opening of the house. It has been suggested that the room was used for prostitution, a hypothesis that appears to be confirmed by the discovery of an inscription on the left wall of the vestibulum (entrance hall). The inscription refers to a woman named Eutychis, “a Greek woman of pleasant manners”, who was offered for two asses (copper coins) (Eutychis Graeca a(ssibus) II moribus bellis). 

Besides the beauty of ancient art and architecture, this find offers an extraordinary insight into ancient society, its stratification and customs.