You're looking at the oldest human brain in the world. About 1400 years older than the previous cerebral pudding discovered near the University of York—which looks really gross, see below—this one is four thousand years old. Scientists have a weird theory about how it survived all this time.


Although the brain appears to be sightly burned outside, it's in a good state. Archeologists believe that the brain—along with others—was preserved by a unique combination of environmental circumstances. First, its Bronze Age owner was buried and burned by an earthquake in Seyitömer Höyük, Turkey. The fire reacted with the soil's contents—rich in magnesium, potassium and aluminum—and that froze the brain in time, forever petrified. According to Antonio Martínez, of Neurolab, these brains help scientists understand some of the sickness that affect us today.


Delicious: 2600-year-old brain pudding from York.