Johnny Depp feeds hot dogs to sharks to escape his crazy life. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor has his own private island in the Bahamas and whenever the pressures of fame get too much for him he goes there to play with the killer fish and forget about acting.

Depp - who has two children, Lily-Rose, 10, and seven-year-old Jack, with French partner Vanessa Paradis - said: "Whenever I was getting frustrated about being 'novelty boy' and making movies, I told myself, 'Calm down.' I can come down here and disappear. I spent the Christmas season here with Vanessa and the kids. You can feed hot dogs to the nurse sharks in the Exumas (the Bahamas Out Islands) - but it's best to not swim when doing it!"

An 18th century Chinese royal seal has reignited debate over stolen relics. Cultural officials in China were enraged when a French auction house sold the priceless antiquity at a sale in Paris Wednesday.

The winning bid was more than $590,000.

New insights into the life of one of America's founding fathers are coming to light thanks to the discovery of previously unknown letters by a California professor.

Alan Houston, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego, discovered 47 letters by and about Benjamin Franklin during the last day of a research trip to the British Library in November 2007.

About 70,000 glass beads from all around the world have been found on an island off Georgia. It's the largest 17th century bead repository ever found at what is believed to be one of the Spanish empire's most remote and wealth outposts.

The beads, made of French and Chinese blue glass, Dutch layered glass and Baltic amber, were discovered as part of a continuing research project at the former Mission Santa Catalina de Gaule on what is now known as St. Catherine's Island off the coast of Georgia. The site, founded in the 16th century, was the capital and administrative center for the province of Guale in Spanish Florida for almost a century, according to a statement from the American Museum of Natural History.

About 150 striking workers of a 3M plant in France released their manager Thursday after holding him hostage for more than 24 hours to demand better separation pay.

Luc Rousselet, the director of 3M's French operations, was allowed to walk off his office at the Pithiviers plant, south of Paris amid boos from workers.