In the 1930s Soviet scientist Nikolai Vavilov gathered 250,000 types of seeds, roots and fruits to create the worlds largest seed bank. During World War 2 the Nazis began closing in on St Petersburg. The city had already suffered horribly from starvation and disease - more than 700,000 citizens had perished. The Hermitage Museum (where the seed bank was located) was considered a target of the Nazis so officials took steps to evacuate the important artwork. The seed bank on the other hand, was simply abandoned by the government. A group of scientists working at the museum boxed up the seeds and moved them to the basement, where they took turns guarding them in shifts. Despite suffering severely from hunger they refused to eat what they considered to be their countries future. By the time the siege ended in the spring of 1944, at least nine of the voluntary guardians had starved to death. More information: huff.to/96193D Story via ScienceAlert.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 21:10:35 +0000