One of the World's Oldest Science Experiments Comes Up From the Dirt

One of the World’s Oldest Science Experiments Comes Up From the Dirt
Every 20 years under the cover of darkness, scientists dig up seeds that were stashed 142 years ago beneath a college campus.
Researchers at Michigan State University searched for a buried bottle, a multicentury attempt to figure out how long seeds can lie dormant in the soil without losing their ability to germinate.Credit...Derrick L. Turner/Michigan State University
By Cara Giaimo
April 21, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
On Thursday morning, several hours before sunrise, Marjorie Weber arrived at a rendezvous spot on the campus of Michigan State University. Three of the school’s other plant scientists were already there, waiting in dribbling snow. As they stood around blowing on their hands, the fifth member of their crew, Frank Telewski, “emerged from the darkness with a shovel slung over his shoulder,” Dr. Weber said.

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