"Origin Of The Species" Found On Shelf In Oxford Loo

You can pick up many things in old English lavatories, germs being one. But one recent visitor to an Oxford, England WC found something quite beguiling - an 18th Century first edition copy of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species."

Christie's said today that the book - one of a run of 1,200 first printed in 1858 - had been on a toilet bookshelf at a family home for some time. The book will be auctioned on Tuesday, the 150th anniversary of the publication of the famous work. Christie's said the book is likely to sell for 60,000 pounds ($99,000).

Darwin's "The Origin of Species" outlined his theory of natural selection, the foundation for the modern understanding of evolution.

That's pretty weighty stuff for a "loo-side" read.