OSU Zoology Celebrates Charles Darwin's 199th Birthday in OSAC

February 12th marks the birthday of perhaps the most famous beetle collector ever: Mr. Charles Darwin, who would have turned 199 this year! The OSAC hosted the Zoology Department's second annual Darwin's Birthday party An important influence on Darwin was the works of various geologist - particularly Sir Charles Lyell. Geological stratigraphy and the forms and distributions of fossils were critical 'facts' that helped inspire the theory of natural selection. This year's 199th birthday cake took it's inspiration from fossils and stratigraphy - creating a layer cake the resembled a famous fossil from Solenhofen: Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer 1861.

The 15 pound 'slab of rock' layer cake was made using over 40 eggs and the lemon curd filling contained over 3 dozen fresh lemons! The 'fossil' on top was constructed using fondant  - dusted with cocoa and various food pigments to give it an appearance similar to stone.

A 150 million year old 'bird' never tasted so good!

A great website for just about every factoid about Darwin, check out:
http://www.aboutdarwin.com