It was 1990 and Albania was an isolated nation with few friends. Atlas Obscura says that the communists knew that the end was near for their government. It was necessary to get rid of documents detailing their crimes that hadaccumulated during 46 years of tyranny and murder. Paper shredders were not available, so government officials liquefied the incriminating files with water and the mixing machines used to knead dough. Once the documents were reduced to a slurry, they were surreptitiously dumped in rivers and in the countryside. 29,000 files were turned into this uncooked dough, leaving only about 10 per cent to survive the democratic revolution of 1991-1992 to the present day.
From Tony and Patricia Sinclair of Mairangi Bay: "We were driving to a South Island ski field via the inland route from Ashburton to Methven. The car hit a giant pothole a.k.a booby trap/landmine and blew a tyre on a Sunday. Could not contact AA. Along came the cavalry; South Island farmers in their four-wheel drive (sensible). The farmers saw our plight and in less than the swish of a lamb's tail they had our luggage and the emergency tyre out, changed the tyre and put the luggage back in. Then the platoon arrived in the form of two other farmers who knew the guy at the tyre place in Methven and rang him on his mobile and programmed our GPS so we could find him. We do not mind if they call us JAFFAS, we think they are GEMS."
