And You Think You Had A Bad Day

January 31, 2006
CAMBRIDGE, England -- A museum visitor tripped on his shoelace, stumbled down a stairway and fell into a display of centuries-old Chinese vases, shattering them into small pieces, officials said Monday.
The three Qing dynasty vases, dating from the late 17th or early 18th Century, had been donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1948 and were among its best-known artifacts. They sat on the windowsill beside the staircase for 40 years until the mishap Wednesday.
"It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident, but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed," museum director Duncan Robinson said.
Margaret Greeves, the assistant director, said the porcelain vases "are in very, very small pieces, but we are determined to put them back together."
By the Associated Press