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French Judiciary Blocks Auction of Earliest-Known Calculator

La Pascaline, the first mechanical calculator (AFP)
La Pascaline, the first mechanical calculator (AFP)
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French Judiciary Blocks Auction of Earliest-Known Calculator

La Pascaline, the first mechanical calculator (AFP)
La Pascaline, the first mechanical calculator (AFP)

One of the world's first calculating machines will not go to auction as scheduled in France, after a Paris court provisionally blocked the historic item from being exported.

Auction house Christie's has confirmed it will not proceed with bidding for the machine La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1642, BBC said.

Valuations suggested the machine could fetch €2 million to €3 million, and Christie's called it the “most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction.”

Scientists and researchers made a legal appeal to grant heritage protections to the historic instrument, arguing it should be classified as a “national treasure.”

Pascal was just 19 years old when he developed the earliest version of a calculator, Christie's said. There are only nine of these machines still in existence.

“It is the first attempt in history to substitute the human mind with a machine,” the official collection description reads.

“Its invention marks a breakthrough, a 'quantum leap' whose importance and significance take on a very special meaning today.”

La Pascaline was exhibited at Christie's venues in New York and Hong Kong throughout the year.

The machine was included in Christie's auction of the library of the late Catalonia collector Léon Parcé, which also featured Pascal's philosophical piece Pensées and the first printed version of “Pascal's wager.”

On Wednesday, a Paris administrative court temporarily blocked an earlier export authorization provided by France's culture minister in May.

Two experts had signed off on the minister's certificate, including one from the Louvre Museum.

The judge concluded there were “serious doubts” over the legality of the certificate, a statement from the Paris court said, adding the decision was provisional until a final judgment is delivered.

In a statement to AFP news agency, a Christie's spokesperson said: “Given the provisional nature of this decision and in accordance with the instructions of its client, Christie's is suspending the sale of La Pascaline.”

The court noted La Pascaline's historic and scientific value could qualify it as a “national treasure,” guaranteeing protections under France's heritage code.

The French heritage group Association Sites & Monuments, which was listed as an applicant in the court filing, welcomed the decision.

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Varieties

America's Official Mammal, the Bison, Gets Bronze Tribute for Country's 250th Birthday

Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument is in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument is in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
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America's Official Mammal, the Bison, Gets Bronze Tribute for Country's 250th Birthday

Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument is in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument is in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The national mammal of the United States is getting in on America's 250th birthday celebration.

Three bison statues cast in bronze have taken up a permanent display outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The pieces — which are larger than real-life bison — made their public debut in the nation's capital on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

The bison earned its official status as the nation's mammal under a law signed by former President Obama in 2016. Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains but were nearly driven to extinction in the 1800s.

“It’s a wonderful story of conservation working, it’s a story of people seeing a need and getting behind that to conserve an animal that is specific to North America,” said Gary Staab, a paleoartist who made the statues.

Staab designed and sculpted the statues in Kearney, Missouri, where he works full-time to create sculptures of animals and historical artifacts for museums around the world. For the bison, Staab sculpted the full-size statues in foam and clay before they were cast in bronze and assembled at a foundry in Colorado. The three statues depict a bull, a cow and a calf.

He said it took about four months to complete the sculptures — a time frame he called “lighting fast” given the size of the pieces.

“They really represent a really unbelievably beautiful and unique thing about North America,” Staab said.

Varieties

Minecraft to Come to Life with UK Theme Park

An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
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Minecraft to Come to Life with UK Theme Park

An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)

Britain is to welcome the world's first Minecraft roller-coaster and attractions with the opening of "Minecraft World" in 2027, the studio behind the video game announced Saturday.

"Merlin Entertainments and Mojang Studios have today announced Minecraft World, the world's first fully immersive Minecraft theme park land," the Sweden-based video game developer and UK theme park company said.

The £50-million ($66.6 million) project will be part of the Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a theme park complex southwest of London.

It will be inspired by the "biomes, mobs and items" of the beloved Minecraft universe, according to a press release, and will feature a coaster, "block built playscapes" and themed retail and dining.

The attraction builds on the popularity of one of the best-selling video games of all time in which players build a three-dimensional world.

Minecraft was first made available on computers in 2011 and has since been released on mobile phones and several gaming consoles.

"A Minecraft Movie" proved a box office hit last year, becoming the most successful film adaptation from a video game in North America and generating memes and TikTok trends that went viral worldwide.

UK cinemas had to restrict audiences from partaking in a viral "chicken jockey" trend arising from the film.

"Minecraft World represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing journey to expand the Minecraft universe," said Torfi Frans Ólafsson, senior creative director for entertainment at Minecraft.

Universal is also to build its first European theme park in Britain, with its first year planned for 2031.

Varieties

Models with Down Syndrome in Romania Strike a Pose for World Down Syndrome Day

Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
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Models with Down Syndrome in Romania Strike a Pose for World Down Syndrome Day

Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)

Dozens of models with Down syndrome strutted down a catwalk at a fashion show in Romania’s capital for an evening celebrating style, “atypical beauty” and courage to mark World Down Syndrome Day.

The SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala in Bucharest brought together designers from across the country, who created garments “with great kindness, care and creativity” for young people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.

Georgeta Bucur, the president of Down Plus Association Bucharest, which organized the event held on Wednesday at the Romexpo center, said 50 seamstresses each created a costume for a youngster they had never met.

“The costumes were created without anyone trying them on," she said. “But the most important thing is that the people gathered together again. This event is really special ... it’s the most beautiful thing that could happen.”

For 19-year-old Antonia Voicu, who wore a puffy green netted dress and a crown of red roses, taking the stage was like a dream come true.

“I feel like I’m always fashionable, and I like to strike a pose, so I like to do like this,” she said, before stepping on the runway. “I’m not nervous at all.”

Antonia’s caretaker, Diana Negres, said the event was “a big step” for Antonia, who had always dreamed of “being a star” parading on stage. “This event gives her exactly this,” she said. “This is her first time, we did no preparation at all, so everything will be spontaneous.”

Cristina Bucur, a seamstress and one of the organizers, said the idea for the fashion show came to her because she has a child with a disability.

"I wanted the other children to see what it’s like to wear a costume during a fashion show, what it’s like to be cheered on stage,” she said. “They enjoy it enormously because they see that someone looks at them, that someone does something for them.”

In Romania, about 12,000 people have Down syndrome, and over 6 million worldwide, according to the Romania Down Syndrome Federation. In 2022, the Eastern European country reported that a person with Down syndrome was born per 847 births.

“On stage, us children go on a parade, and today I’m dressed in a nice dress and try to do some modeling,” said nine-year-old Marusika Burlaca, who took to the stage wearing a pink dress studded with little pearls after having her hair done up.

“Maybe they get a bit nervous at times, it’s the emotions, but they really like to be the center of attention,” said Larisa Bucur, one of the organizers. “We know that they want to be in the spotlight. I think it’s a very good opportunity for them.”

World Down Syndrome Day celebrates the lives of people with Down syndrome to make sure they have equal freedoms and opportunities, and to raise awareness. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the official day of observation.

This year’s theme is combating loneliness, which the World Down Syndrome Day website says can have an outsized impact on people living with Down syndrome.

“Everyone feels lonely sometimes,” it states. “But for many people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, loneliness is a more common and painful experience.”