Israeli researchers grow new date plants from 2,000-year-old seeds

Israeli researchers grow new date plants from 2,000-year-old seeds

Cool story

Dozens of seeds were gleaned from archaeology collections gathered at locations in the dry Dead Sea area, including the Masada hilltop fortress built by King Herod the Great in the first century BCE and the ancient site of Qumran, famous for the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s.


Six saplings grew from 32 seeds sown and the plants have been dubbed Adam, Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith, and Hannah.

 

What kind of trees?

 

" Dates ",,, the fruit tree ,,

 

Ah. Thanx. I did NOT know that buttigeek tree seeds would last that long.

 

Evidently ,, neither did the researchers ,,, but pretty cool that they did , and can grow a plant from seeds left over from the times of Christ ,,

 

We know seeds can last a hundred years or perhaps hundreds of years, no one though 2,000 years, but there was alway a chance.
To quote a movie, "life will find a way".

 

This caught my eye as I'm working up (yet another) post-apocalyptic tale.

One of the plot points is the relearning of farming and the need for heirloom seeds. I'll be adding papyrus and sugar cane to the things saved from the radiation storms.

In this tale, civilization is destroyed by a combination of a weak magnetosphere and an angry sun (a series of X10+ flares + one big CME)

I used to dismiss this kind of event out of hand, but after watching the Suspicious 0bservers site and doing my own research, that shit just got real as the kids say today. My recent New York Railroad post came out of that research.

 

A weak magnetic field and solar storms have happened dozens of times over the last few million years.
It will suck but it doesn't kill off large swaths of life forms.

 

just trying to cash in on the current meme set.

besides, this should be a fun one to write
100 years after The Fall/The Event/The Storm - not sure what I'm going to call it. My rule of thumb will be 4 generations involved A near mythical "Grandpa' sets up some things for future generations.....

The story will focus on a 17 Y/O sent to scout 'upriver' to see what can be found.
There, he meets Gert. Then it gets interesting.

I'm taking a page from SO Catastrophism meme - massive electrical discharges burn canyons across the fruited plains sort of thing.

you know - sorta real EOTW sorta science.stuff.

 

The last generation who were adults from the time of civilization will have god like knowledge. They will know mathematics, be able to identify most old technology or be able to BS everyone into thinking they know what it is, be able to turn it on, be able to use it, fix it care for it, ect.
And if they're assholes they keep the knowledge all to them selves.

 

Is it true that they also found 4,000 year old Twinkies that were still fresh in their wrapper?

 

A hot Twinkie ????

 

A crusty microwave lining. Otherwise known as a "Hostess Grenade."

 

Bernie Sanders?

 

I'm afraid to ask,,, but I give up ,,,

 

results of MW a Twinkie

 

Once, while at Tin City, Ak - I went to the trading post. I found a Hostess Fruit pie from 2 decades prior. IWO - old.

I bought it on a dare.

Other than the filling being sorta dry, there was no sign of rot or mold. Sugar is a great preservative.

No, I didn't try a taste test - I'm curious, not suicidal. .

 

Superior knowledge of some things. Being able to read and having access to books would be the ultimate treasure

How many here could build even a crude loom? Could you craft a Spinning Wheel or even use a hand spindle to make thread/yarn?

The list is almost endless - make a battery, build a genset from salvaged parts and on and on....