three Chinese vases, Qing dynasty (17th century) / human body

(In 2006, a museum visitor tripped on his shoelace and stumbled into these 17th-century vases while they were on view at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. As one witness described the incident: “We watched the man fall as if in slow motion. He landed in the middle of the vases and they splintered into a million pieces. He was still sitting there stunned when staff appeared. Everyone stood around in silence, as if in shock. The man kept pointing to his shoelace, saying, ‘There it is; that’s the culprit.’ ”)