Darwin -- the Darwin, Chuck D. -- may have done us a great service by theorizing on the origin of species and other, uhh, monkeying around in science, but he was no sex expert.
The world lost what was regarded as it's oldest living creature today. A tortoise, it was reported to have been taken from the Galapagos Islands by Darwin on the Beagle (no, not a dog, you ape -- a ship), in 1835. He named it Harry. For better than 100 years, Harry managed to keep a really big surprise under his shell: No one noticed that Harry, one of three tortoises Darwin brought home, was actually a female. It was 1950 when someone noticed. I guess Harry didn't get any chances to date in 100 years. (I knew tortoises were slow, but -- as a species -- how have tortoises stuck around so long with so little action?)
Harry, decently renamed Harriet after a century of sex confusion, was 175 or 176 years old when she died. More from a reputable source, linked below. To get a little more of a feel for grand old (and, I guess now, dead) Harriet, follow this search link.
World's oldest tortoise dies at 176 in Australia
- JRO
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