December 22, 2007: Pub in a Tree

[xoxoxoBruce]

From the Daily Mail, via Neatorama.

This bar in the trunk of a Baobab has punters travelling from miles around for a brew.
It has been created in a huge 72ft high tree in this garden in Limpopo, South Africa, to keep thirsty locals happy.
But tourists flock to see the amazing bar inside the hollow 155ft circumference of the trunk.
The tree even has its own cellar, with natural ventilation to keep the beer cool.
The huge tree, in the grounds of Sunland Farm, is so wide it takes 40 adults with outstretched arms to encircle it.
Carbon-dating, which can determine the age of organic materials, has shown the anicent tree is about 6,000 years old. "This tree is likely to be older than the Giza Pyramids of Egypt," said Heather van Heerden, owner of Sunland Farm.
"It is phenomenal to have such a magnificent tree in your back garden. It is possibly the biggest living thing on earth."

Pass out drunk and wake up in Alice's rabbit hole... or a Hobbit house.

quote: "has punters travelling from miles around.."

Must be referring to Zen and Shawnee :p

[TheMercenary]

Very cool.

"Punter", what the hell is that? A kicker who punts the ball?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by aero geek

quote: "has punters travelling from miles around.."

Must be referring to Zen and Shawnee :p

I've a feeling you'll be pun-ished for that remark.

[LJ]

a punt is a small boat.....

[xoxoxoBruce]

punter...... Noun. Generally a customer of any business. {Informal}

from

[Sperlock]

Maybe this is what the Inn of the Last Home should have done.

Sorry, my geek is showing.

[Trilby]

reminds me of the tree/hide-out where Wesley from the Princess Bride was tortured.


...Now, this is for posterity, so, please, be honest...

[tulzscha]

Six thousand years old? That would make it the oldest living organism on the planet, considering bristlecone pines (the acknowledged record-holders) live to ~5,000.

Aha! after a little research (wikipedia) we find that:

Some are reputed to be many thousands of years old, though as the wood does not produce annual growth rings, this is impossible to verify; few botanists give any credence to these claims of extreme age, with current evidence suggesting they rarely exceed 400 years old.

Also, how do you radiocarbon-date something that's still alive? Traditionally, it has to die first to stop taking in carbon-14, then you can calculate based on the remaining amount of the radioactive...

They're embellishing to snare tourists, aren't they? :P

[monster]

Originally Posted by tulzscha

Also, how do you radiocarbon-date something that's still alive?

Cut a bit off? Unless it's a worm or a zombie.....

[Aliantha]

Over here, punters are the people who place bets at the races or the TAB, but it's also used as a friendly term for anyone playing any game of chance.

[tulzscha]

Originally Posted by monster

Cut a bit off? Unless it's a worm or a zombie.....

Hmm, but you have to find the right bit to cut off. If you get the wrong bit, it'll tell you it was born yesterday =]

[sandypossum]

We have similar trees in Australia, the boab (Adansonia gregorii). There is a huge one near Derby in WA that is 1500 years old with a 15m girth. Alas ours was used as a stopover prison, mainly for Aborigines.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by tulzscha

Also, how do you radiocarbon-date something that's still alive? Traditionally, it has to die first to stop taking in carbon-14, then you can calculate based on the remaining amount of the radioactive...

They all grow solid, the center rots out at some point, and the hollow has to be cleaned out by people or critters. I should guess that center dead wood could be carbon dated, not to the age of the tree, but the point the center rotted out.

[sweetwater]

suppose the tree pub sells root beer?