Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Strange Phenomenon of Stone Encased Animals

Now we’ve covered a variety of stories here at Xoom, some strange, some inspirational, and some - just simply hilarious. This little piece of phenomenon pie falls under a different category, the category of… What the Hell? 

In 1821, Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine carried an unusual item about a stone mason named David Virtue who made an astonishing discovery while working on a large chunk of rock that had come from about 22 feet below the surface. Upon breaking it open "he found a lizard embedded in the stone. It was coiled up in a round cavity of its own form, being an exact impression of the animal. It was about an inch and a quarter long, of a brownish yellow color, and had a round head, with bright sparkling projecting eyes. It was apparently dead, but after being about five minutes exposed to the air it showed signs of life. It soon ran about with much celerity."

After closer examination, there apparently have been several reports of this occurring over the years. How could something like this be?

Frogs can hibernate for extended periods of time by forming cocoons at the bottom of water holes or deep in the mud. They do this by breathing through their skin. But how could this explain the weird cases of frogs encased in stone.

Rock can take millions of years to form. Are we to believe that these animals have been encased for millions of years, only to frolic away happily after being released?

Strange.

I'd be more inclined to believe this if more evidence was presented to back it up. 


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