Rene (Bill) Manzini from San Francisco, California brings a bag
which holds: “The world’s largest genuine pearl”
Not really a
pearl in the precious-gemstone sense, this 14-pound secretion of a giant clam
is roughly the size and shape of a human brain.
Wilburn Dowell Cobb, the owner of the
pearl, brought it to America from the Philippines in 1939. Known as the “Pearl of Allah” or the “Pearl
of Lao Tzu,” it was the subject of ever-increasingly fanciful tales by Cobb
about its origin, virtually all of which have proven untrue. In 1979, Victor Barbish would purchase the
pearl from Cobb’s estate for $200,000.
Barbish would continue to spread colorful but false stories about the
pearl. Once appraised for tens of millions of
dollars, the pearl has never been sold again, and today is not considered
remotely that valuable. Manzini is a
representative of Kay Jewelers, though his part in the story goes unexplained.
Lt. Cliff Judkins from Montgomery, Alabama: “I
bailed out of a jet and my parachute didn’t open…I fell 3 miles into the ocean”
In
June, Air Force Lt. Judkins was flying with his squadron on their way to Japan
when his plane developed engine trouble and failed. His main parachute also failed, and he
plummeted into the Pacific with only his small pilot chute offering
resistance. He hit the water at 90mph,
suffering fractures of the back, pelvis and both ankles. Fully recovered here, he says he’s been
cleared to fly again, and hopes to join his squadron next week.
Special guest Durward
Kirby brings out a woman from Iceland who speaks English, but has never heard
of Garry Moore. She tries to pick him
out from two non-show-biz imposters, based on appearance, voice, joke-telling
and other factors. She fails to choose
him. She would return a few months later
to play a similar game with guest Jonathan Winters (E554).
This site was created with the Nicepage