Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

3,500 Year Old Florida Tree Dies of Natural Causes

Posted by timothy on from the post-primary-burning-bush dept.

hondo77 writes with an excerpt from The Daily "'Mother Nature claimed one of her oldest living specimens (Monday) in a freak fire that destroyed a 3,500-year-old bald cypress tree towering over central Florida. Known as "The Senator," or simply "The Big Tree," the hollowed-out majestic timber, standing at 118 feet tall, ignited before dawn. Firefighters watched helplessly as the oldest tree east of the Mississippi — and the fifth oldest in the world — blazed and then collapsed in a heap of flaming embers.' The fire likely started by 'either a weeks- old lightning strike that smoldered until combustion occured, or friction caused by buffeting winds that ignited a spark and erupted in flames.'"

8 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. If only trees could talk by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This one would have had a TON of boring stories about animals walking by.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  2. Re:Sigh by sideslash · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, there's a good answer for that: One of the really fulfilling and profounding affirming activities for nerds to engage in on a tech / "news for nerds" site is to complain about articles that don't fit that profile. But the problem is that if there never were any irrelevant articles, nobody would have anything to complain about, and thus we would have a compromised experience. It's paradoxical, but everything seems to be going according to plan.

  3. Mixed feelings by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    On one hand one of the oldest trees in the world is no more, but on the other hand a Senator died in a fire...

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  4. Re:Natural Causes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Agree. Better title would have been "oldest tree dies of smoking related causes.".

  5. Re:Natural Causes by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

    If a person were to die in a naturally caused forest fire, it's generally not attributed to natural causes. It's attributed to burning in a fire.

  6. Something really old died in Florida? by rbrander · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow. I wonder if that ever happened before.

  7. Re:Clarification please by somersault · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm guessing he means BoingBoing.

    When I hear "boing boing" I just think "TITS!", but apparently it's a new aggregator..

    --
    which is totally what she said
  8. The Perfect Crime! by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Was it natural causes or was it... MURDER?! Certainly no one would SUSPECT the other trees in the area! But they all just STOOD there!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?