It's an orange, and it's petrified.
I found it in my car, under the seat, when I cleaned it out after my recent cross-country drive. I don't have any memory of placing it in the car, so I have no idea how long it had been there. Possibly millennia. Yes, it's a '94 Camry, but the manufacturers may have made an error when they recorded the year.
Should I have notified the local curator? Probably. Should I be contacting national archaeology organizations? Possibly. Maybe I'll send them a link to my blog.
At least one question remains: Has this ever happened before? I've heard of petrified wood. I've heard of petrified manure. But I've never heard of petrified oranges, much less seen one with my own eyes. Some people say this happens all the time. In their back yard. I say they're making it up. So what if google got 320,000 hits for petrified orange (only 721 when in quotes)? They could all be typos, right? I demand proof, like a 40-pound box of petrified oranges delivered to my front door.
Or a picture, whatever.
And if you'd rather just bring cookies to my front door, that's fine too.
Preferably snickerdoodles.
Thanks in advance.
I have a memory of seeing a hard old orange over and over again wondering if someone was ever going to throw it out. It was probably in our fruit basket at home in AZ. This is what happens to oranges when you don't eat them. In wetter climates, however, they mold and never become "petrified".
ReplyDeleteOnce in high school when cleaning my room, I found a bowl of raisins under my bed, which I found odd since I hate raisins. I subsequently realized that at the time the bowl got shoved under my bed, it was full of grapes. I think your orange is more impressive, but I thought I'd share my forgotten fruit story :)
ReplyDeleteThat is the coolest, grossest thing I've ever seen. I can't believe you couldn't smell it in your car.
ReplyDeleteYou are now #3 in google when searching for petrified orange (in quotes).
ReplyDeleteWe also have a pertified orange. Guess it's been here since about 2004 or 2005. Never did have a rotten smell or odor. We have no clue how this came to be. We decided to break LeRoy open today, would love to share the pics if ya want.
ReplyDeleteby all means, I'd love to see pics of the inside of your petrified orange! Send em on over or post a link. tannerb@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteCleaned out my room and we found one that looks just like this! But it stil actually smells like an orange!!
ReplyDeleteCleaned out my room and we found one that looks just like this! But it stil actually smells like an orange!!
ReplyDeleteI have one ten years old. Was left in a purse for months, found "petrified" instead of rotten.
ReplyDelete