The International Crusade For Holy Relics has been fighting (pdf) to have things like the nails used to attach J.C. to the cross removed from Ebay.
posted by gman on Feb 21, 2008 - 42 comments

The Wacky World of beating up guitars to add value."Normally, even one of the resulting scratches or dings on a brand-new instrument would make a guitar enthusiast cringe. But in the hands of Mr. Eldred, they are the first steps in the process of creating a "relic" guitar -- a brand new instrument that has been deliberately aged to simulate decades' worth of rock-and-roll wear and tear."
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Aug 28, 2007 - 48 comments

The trade in stolen Asian relics is booming. TIME reports on how cultural sites are being looted and precious artifacts smuggled overseas. Sometimes they're returned, but much of Asia's cultural heritage is being lost.
posted by homunculus on Oct 26, 2003 - 9 comments

The exciting hobby of collecting Cinematographica is a great resource whether you are a collector or if you just found some old family home movie relics. Browse the 100 Years of Film Sizes or salivate over the author's own collection. Perhaps, you, a do-it yourselfer like myself, do have some old family movies laying around that you want to digitalize. Read the tips about converting before you jump in and possibly spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
posted by jasonspaceman on Jul 29, 2003 - 1 comment

Reliquaries are containers built to hold objects of special religious significance, such as the foot of a saint, or the skull of a king. The art of European reliquary making reached it's zenith in the Middle Ages when craftsman created fantastic objets d'art for cathedrals and monasteries in the form of caskets, bodily appendages, and freestanding holders built to visually display occasionally gruesome bits of the venerated individual. The layperson had access to reliquaries as well, typically in the form of small lead crosses worn around the neck, containing pieces of bone or one of the ubiquitous fragments of the True Cross. Reliquaries are not unique to the Christianity, but can also be found in Buddhist and Islamic tradition.
posted by MrBaliHai on Oct 6, 2002 - 27 comments

If you're an old geek like me, you'll enjoy a nostalgic browse through the collection at OLD-COMPUTERS.COM. If you're a young geek, you can laugh at all the boxen that we used to think were cutting edge 20 years ago. What system currently in use today will be the Intertec Superbrain of 2020?
posted by MrBaliHai on Mar 3, 2002 - 24 comments

Saintly blood makes scheduled liquid-form appearance. The blood of Saint Gennaro usually turns to liquid twice a year — on September 19, the saint's feast day, and on the first Saturday in May. In the past, disaster has struck when the blood has remained dry.
posted by o2b on Sep 20, 2001 - 3 comments