A Survivor of the Hindenburg

Of the 97 people aboard the Hindenburg, all but 35 survived that famous 1937 disaster. Plus one of their beers.

The New York Post reports that "a charred bottle of beer that survived the explosion of the Hindenburg will be auctioned off this month for an estimated $7,500. Although its contents are undrinkable, the unopened bottle of Lowenbrau would be the most expensive brew ever sold. Leroy Smith, a New Jersey firefighter found the beer along with a pitcher shortly after the airship burst into flame over Lakehurst in 1937, killing 38. Smith buried six bottles and the pitcher after police sealed off the scene of the wreckage. He returned later to retrieve the souvenirs."

Fast thinking, Smith. And morbidly opportunistic, too.

The relic is being sold by Smith's niece, Rhea Longstreet, to whom he gave the bottle and jug in 1966.