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SLAC Legends: The Rock
By Katherine Bellevin
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'ITIS AROCAN
DITIS ABI GONE'
(Photo by Diana Rogers) |
What is the rock sitting outside of
the A&E building? An asteroid? A geode?
Many theories abound, but the true saga of ‘The Rock’
began over 20 years ago. In 1980 it was unearthed in an excavation site
at the West End of the Klystron Gallery. The rock is almost perfectly
round rock and weighs about 800 pounds.
Ed Keyser (retired), who discovered the rock, initially
thought he had found the world’s largest geode. “We pictured the rock
split in two and containing all the beautiful crystals that one finds in
geodes,” he said. But after drilling a hole into the rock to see what
might be in the center, he found only solid sand stone all the way
through. After being moved
several times and twice slated for demolition, the rock was transferred
to it’s current location.
“I am happy the rock provided some
joy to those who were around when it was placed,” said retired SLAC-er
Ed Keyser. “It is also a pleasure to know that many tales of how the
rock came to be in its present location have been invented and told and
retold.” For the rest of Ed’s
story, see:
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/gen/pubinfo/therock.html |
