I'm not sure how this discussion got started, however I think I
can top the previous artifacts listed. Years ago, when I was
doing an inventory of the collections of the Western Reserve
Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio (USA), I came across a
petrified birthday cake in a storage closet. Since it was
unaccessioned, and in a sense it was an excellent example of
material culture from c. 1960, my survey team gave it a number
and had it accessioned! We never did figure out how the cake
had gotten there (someone must have forgotten to give it to the
birthday girl/boy!).

(I am not sure if the museum still has the cake in its
collection)

--
Robin Gabriel
Director of Education
Monticello, The Home of Thomas Jefferson
P.O. Box 316
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(804) 984-9854          [log in to unmask]