Meet the man who’s re-creating Noah’s Ark

While Noah will likely always remain the first name in arks, tourists are chomping at the bit to climb aboard “Johan’s Ark,” an ambitious re-creation of the biblical boat that’s attracting gawkers galore along a waterfront shipyard in Dordrecht, a city in the western Netherlands.

Dutch builder Johan Huibers is expected to complete work on the massive vessel sometime next month in what has been a staggeringly ambitious project to bring one of the best-known stories of the Bible to life. It’s taken three years of his life and $1.6 million out of his pocket, but Huibers, owner of a...........read more

The Methuselah Tree

Growing high in the Inyo National Forest located in eastern California, a bristlecone pine tree, nicknamed the Methuselah tree, has existed for thousands of years in an ancient grove among other centuries old trees. The oldest known living organism, the Methuselah tree is named after the oldest person in the Bible and is estimated to be upwards of 4800 years old.  If scientists are correct, this tree's germination date predates the Egyptian Pyramids.

The Ancient Bristecone Pine Forest where the Methuselah tree lives is higher than 10,000 feet above sea level.  Here, the soil is very poor and the climate is harsh, but bristecone pine trees have learned to adapt, giving them an extreme evolutionary edge.

Precipitation in this ancient forest is usually less than 12 inches, ranking among the lowest recorded on Earth.  Most of that precious moisture falls as snow throughout the long winter.  The warmth of summer is often limited to a scant 6 weeks and it is during this time that the bristlecone generates new growth and musters its reserves for overwintering.