December 22, 2007: Pub in a Tree

[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.....

[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 =]

[monster]

Originally Posted by tulzscha

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 =]

Really? I make new cells every day, but my body looks distinctly 37 all over. Minimum. Wouldn't the movement of the sap ensure a similar effect? can you only carbondate the very center of a tree to get the true age? 'Cause if so, we'll never know, even when it's very, very dead.

Punters are customers to a Brit.

[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.