This is way beyond cool.
An egg collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle has been rediscovered at Cambridge University.
The small dark brown egg, with Darwin’s name written on it, was found by a retired volunteer at the university’s zoology museum.
It bears a large crack, caused after the great naturalist put it in a box that was too small for it.
Happy Easter from Charles Darwin!
by NextNewNexus
12 Apr 2009 at 07:59
This is pretty cool. As an enthusiast of the ‘natural philosophers’ of the 18th & 19th centuries and the great Carolus Linnaeus (What? Another “canadensis,” Carl?), I dig stuff like this.
They still exist, these poorly preserved, indifferently stored, often priceless and irretrieveable bits of our lost biological past. And yes, sometimes damaged long ago by the well-meaning original collectors whose names adorn the taxonomy. It’s all part of the charm of early scientific exploration.
by Warren
15 Apr 2009 at 16:57
I find these discoveries wonderful as well, and hey, you gotta admit, the timing was just excellent.