In late 1942, Lord Louis Mountbatten - the British military's Chief of Combined Operations - paid a visit to Winston Churchill at his official country home, Chequers. Mountbatten had with him a small parcel of great importance. A member of Churchill's staff apologized that the Prime Minister was at that moment in his bath.

"Good," said Mountbatten as he bounded up the stairs. "That's exactly where I want him to be." Mountbatten entered the steaming bathroom to find Churchill in the tub. It was generally not a wise thing to interrupt Sir Winston in his bathtub.

"I have," Mountbatten explained, "a block of a new material that I would like to put in your bath."

Fascinating story...I do wonder how well such a "floating island" would handle stormy weather typical of the Atlantic or Pacific in wintertime, rather than a (mere) lake.
- bruno 6-03-2003 8:07 pm [add a comment]