The Economic Times

In the 1870s, someone borrowed a book from Kiama Library for one month; 150 years later, Ross Simmons returned it after finding it in a fireplace, but the $20,000 inflation-adjusted fine was never charged by librarians

A remarkable library mystery has been solved in Australia after Ross Simmons returned The Antiquities of Athens to Kiama Public Library, around 150 years after it was apparently borrowed. The historic book was discovered decades ago inside an old tea crate sealed within a fireplace during a home renovation.