December 22, 2007: Pub in a Tree

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

Very cool.

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

aero geek;418618 wrote:

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.

a punt is a small boat.....

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

from

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

Sorry, my geek is showing.

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


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

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

tulzscha;418694 wrote:

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

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

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.

monster;418700 wrote:

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 =]

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.

tulzscha;418694 wrote:

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.

suppose the tree pub sells root beer?

"It is possibly the biggest living thing on earth."

It's possible, but not very likely:

Excluding multi-stem trees, the General Sherman tree, an individual Giant Sequoia with a volume of 1487 m³, would hold the title of the world's largest living organism, if measured in volume and mass.[3] This tree stands 83.8 m (274 ft 11 in) tall and the trunk alone is estimated to weigh over 2000 tons. (Wikipedia)

Welcome to the Cellar eander315. :D

I've read that claim, largest living thing, about a number of things. The trouble is, it's almost impossible to prove, because they're comparing apples and oranges... and pomegranates, and rutabagas, etc.

I'm not as trunk as you dhink I am.

xoxoxoBruce;418749 wrote:

Welcome to the Cellar eander315. :D

I've read that claim, largest living thing, about a number of things.

Yea, just ask LJ. :D

tulzscha;418721 wrote:

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.

eander315;418741 wrote:

"It is possibly the biggest living thing on earth."

It's possible, but not very likely:

*thinks* mmm. Must upload picture of ex-wife to wikipedia

The tree even has its own cellar

Hey, so do we!!!!

Concerning the "largest living thing on earth"...

I remember reading a few years ago about a fungus that was found in Wisconsin (I think) that covered (above and below ground) something like over 400 acres. One continuous (contiguous?) fungus type thingy. But, I guess it's all in how you measure "the largest living thing on earth".:right:

Gravdigr;419049 wrote:

Concerning the "largest living thing on earth"...

I remember reading a few years ago about a fungus that was found in Wisconsin (I think) that covered (above and below ground) something like over 400 acres. One continuous (contiguous?) fungus type thingy. But, I guess it's all in how you measure "the largest living thing on earth".:right:

There is an armillaria fungus in the Malheur Forest in Oregon that is bigger than the armillaria fungus in the Great North Woods at an estimated 2,200 acres. Hard to measure though, as it is mostly underground. (Mycelium is the fungus, the mushrooms are like fruit.) Apples and oranges. Or fungii and trees.

Oh and a fungal tidbit:
Moreover, while humans and most species are divided into only two sexes, mushrooms contain over 36,000 sexes.

There's an orgy goin' on in them woods.

I've heard tell of some in South America, I think, that were even larger.