Ancient Seeds Yield Once Extinct Squash

Most foods, with the exception of honey and Twinkies, have expiration dates. Natural foods, like fruits and vegetables, slowly rot away over time, but what about their seeds? Surely those have an expiration date, right? 

Students from Winnipeg, Canada recently discovered a stash of 800-year-old seeds while on an archaeological dig. The mysterious seeds, once planted, grew into a rare species of squash that has been extinct for hundreds of years. While we don't know if the seeds themselves were safe to eat, the squash that they harvested was absolutely delicious. Check out the images below to see the rare gourd for yourself and learn more about this discovery.

Students discovered the seeds buried in a clay pot on Wisconsin's Menemonee Reservation.

When they opened it up, they were met with a pile of strange seeds that they determined were over 800 years old. Is it just me, or do these seeds look like tiny, oval-shaped pancakes?

While not all of the seeds produced fruit, some grew this once-extinct squash.

Imagine seeing these at your local farmer's market. The students named the squash "gete-okosomin," or "really cool old squash."

There won't be any shortage of seeds moving forward.

Each squash appears to be roughly the size of a Chipotle burrito.

These students put in a lot of hard work, and it's finally time for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. After all, it isn't often that archaeologists get to eat their discoveries.

ORIGINAL: Wimp

JAKE BRANNON

NOV 21, 2015