The story goes that in 1666, Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when one of those apples bonked him on the head which got him thinking about why things fall straight down and not any other way. That inspired him to come up with the theory of gravity. (Although there's no official record, some say the story of the apple hitting Newton on the head may be a bit embellished. One account has Newton and a friend having tea under an apple tree and Newton wondered why the apple falls straight down after seeing an apple fall near them. Another account has him walking in a garden and saw an apple fall and pondered the thought. Whatever you believe, his theory helps scientists and theorists to this day.)
At the posted coordinates, you'll see one of the descendants of the tree that produced the apple that had Newton marveling about gravity. Before that original tree died in 1815 in Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth in England, scientists took grafts from the tree and preserved them to be later planted in various places. One of those places was at this location -- the original location of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) which once stood here before it moved to Gaithersburg, MD and was renamed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Now this area is called International Park (probably due to the fact that it's surrounded by embassies!) A NBS scientist named Irvine C. Gardner acquired four cuttings from the original tree and decided to plant one of the specimens here in 1957. Since the Gardner apple tree was rooted from a cutting rather than propagated from a seed, it’s a genetic clone and qualifies for a “direct descendant” honorific. The tree you see was propagated from that descendant and planted here in April 2000. There is a plaque identifying the tree. The park is open to the public. But I wouldn't try looking for it after sunset. Since the park is surrounded by embassies and consulates, the Secret Service could be watching...you've been warned!
To get credit for this virtual:
1) Take a picture of yourself at the tree and/or plaque. Please post!
2) If you are standing in front of the tree and plaque, there is an object northwest of the tree and within a short walking distance along the bricked walking path. Find that object and tell me what that object is and when it was placed there IN AN EMAIL OR MESSAGE ME. DO NOT POST ANSWER OR ANY PICTURES OF THIS OBJECT IN YOUR LOG. If you do, your log will be deleted.
Extra credit for bragging rights: There are other descendants of Newton's tree in the US. Where are they?
UPDATE (6/12/22): WARNING: Looks like fencing have been erected around the park for reasons unknown. If you want to go past the fencing, it's at your own risk. It is still possible to get a glimpse of the tree from the fence. For now, I'll accept a photo of the tree and fencing as proof you were there (if you or a personal item want to be in the photo, even better!). Sorry for the inconvenience.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
