From chemistry-request@ccl.net Thu Apr  2 10:39:53 1992
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 92 08:37:33 EST
From: Mingzuo Shen <shen@athena.cs.uga.EDU>
Subject: 15,000 years old fungus?
To: chemistry@ccl.net


Hi all,

    Well, my monthly salary is less than the subscription
fee monthly.

    Last night Peter Jennings of ABC news reported that
some Canadian scientist from Toronto found a 15,000 years
old fungus in a forest in Michigan. ABC is known to
post one joke per year, I thought the fungus was a good
one. 

    This morning there it is: in the Atlanta Constitution
(local newspaper from Atlanta, which is the capitol of
US state of Georgia, which is in the US South, some where),
the same story. This time in addition to scientists from
Toronto, some local Michigan scientists were also among
the team who discovered the fungus. Why 15,000 years?
Because that is how long ago was the last ice age.
The fungus is estimated to weigh about 100 ton, slightly
less than a blue whale. 

    Who is pulling the joke this time (or is it a joke)?

mingzuo shen