How one man killed the oldest tree on earth.

[Orbital-Fetus]

Inspired by the "Loneliest tree on Earth" thread.

Basically, Currey got his tree corer stuck in the tree. So stuck that it wouldn’t come out. An unwitting park ranger helped him by cutting the tree down, to remove the instrument, and later Currey began to count the rings. Eventually, he realized that the tree he had just felled was almost 5,000 years old – the oldest tree ever recorded.

The story is a sad one, but there’s a lot of science in there too. Great bristlecone pines are some of the longest living trees in the world. In the 1950s, this was a shock to people, who always thought that for trees, longevity correlated with size. Bristlecone pines max out at around 20 feet tall—they’re gnarly, little gnomes of trees, nothing like the majestic Redwoods of California.

How One Man Accidentally Killed the Oldest Tree Ever | Smart News | Smithsonian

Radio lab podcast on it:

Be Careful What You Plan For

 

[Rout3r2035]

@Groot

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

 

[ExodusNirvana]

 

[the cac mamba]

:jayfdup:

 

[David_TheMan]

Find it hard to really be hurt or care to be honest.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Update February 10, 2016: Since this article was written, an older tree was identified in the White Mountains, California. The tree is also a bristlecone pine and is thought to be over 5,000 years old.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...dest-tree-ever-125764872/#AC1XWDmRWJUREqC2.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

Find it hard to really be hurt or care to be honest.

C'mon

 

[Mensch Fontana]

Trees die everyday B

 

[Pressure]

Hopefully they give it a Viking Funeral.

 

[RadaMillz]

Can u imagine if u were somehow transported to 5,000 years ago, to that exact spot where the tree was growing. I'd freak out if I've seen human beings just roaming around looking for food in the forest.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

Update February 10, 2016: Since this article was written, an older tree was identified in the White Mountains, California. The tree is also a bristlecone pine and is thought to be over 5,000 years old.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...dest-tree-ever-125764872/#AC1XWDmRWJUREqC2.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

nice.

 

[levitate]

Update February 10, 2016: Since this article was written, an older tree was identified in the White Mountains, California. The tree is also a bristlecone pine and is thought to be over 5,000 years old.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...dest-tree-ever-125764872/#AC1XWDmRWJUREqC2.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

 

[Groot]

@Groot

Trees die everyday B

We are Groot???