Date Palm Buds After 2,000 Years

Okay, the actual truth is not as sexy as the headline:

BBC reports

Israeli researchers say they have succeeded in growing a date palm from a 2,000-year-old seed. The seed was one of several found during an excavation of the ancient mountain fortress of Masada.

Scientists working on the project believe it is the oldest seed ever germinated.

Researchers in Jerusalem have nicknamed the sapling Methuselah, after the biblical figure said to have lived for nearly 1,000 years.

It is significant, is just that in my mind's eye, i saw an elderly couple, aged from waiting, fall into each other's arms and say, "nunc dimittis . . ."