Russian scientists said this week they had drilled through Antarctica's frozen crust to the vast Lake Vostok, which has lain untouched for at least 14 million years hiding what scientists believe may be unknown organisms and clues to life on other planets.
"Well, did you drink the water?" Putin asked Russia's Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev after being presented with a vial of water which the government said was from the Vostok borehole.
Trutnev, looking flustered, assured Putin that he had not tried a drop of the water.
"Well it would have been interesting you know: dinosaurs drank it and Trutnev, a member of the Russian government, too," Putin said with a smile.
Trutnev stifled a chortle and said he did not want to be dinosaur.
Sealed deep under the ice, Lake Vostok is one of the world's last unexplored frontiers. Scientists suspect its depths may provide a glimpse of the planet before the ice age.
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nice, i want to read more about the discoveries
Vostok Lake and its VERY ancient water bear analogy and homogeneity to our Parliament. Both are very much out of today's time. Salams
The title is very misleading. I was expecting that Putin was stupid enough to have drank ancient water that might have contained bacteria, and god knows what, that could be fatal to modern man.
Anyway, I can't wait for scientists to release their findings abotu the Vostok Lake!
I cant wait to hear more about mysterious creatures that lived a million years from now!!!?!