Can This Possibly Be True?

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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
I'm just casually flicking through an 1861 bound volume of the 'Leisure Hour' magazine*, reading the odd article when I stumbled upon this amongst a piece about the study of mosses...

"A charming quality of this moss order is the power of revivification in the plants: pieces that have been dried and laid away for years still retain their vitality, thus rivalling the snail in the British Museum which, having been cured and glued to a slab for years, found one happy morning that the glue had given way, upon which it stretched forth its horns, as if after a long, long sleep, protruded its broad foot, and had travelled half over the case when its movements attracted the eye of the curator of the department".

Now I know certain microscopic critters can survive all sorts of hardships such as tardigrades able to survive for decades without food or water....but a snail?

Maybe this particular article was published 1st April?

Regards,

Jay.

*An educational weekly published by the then very popular Religious Tract Society; cost was 1d.
 

verporchting

Lifer
Dec 30, 2018
2,879
8,933
Hmm, fascinating. No idea if that’s true or not but it is interesting. Bet that curator had a strong drink later that evening and a rethink of everything he thought was true!
 

canucklehead

Lifer
Aug 1, 2018
2,863
15,323
Alberta
It appears it is a true story after all!

The last 2 paragraphs are hilarious.


Regards,

Jay.
Dry aged beef is quite popular these days, I wonder if dry aging a snail offers any improvement in flavour and texture...
 
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verporchting

Lifer
Dec 30, 2018
2,879
8,933
In my experience it’s usually the server that is slower than a petrified, curated and glued snail, and not the actual petrified, curated and glued snail, but hey, not much French (or British) cuisine in my neighborhood.
 
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