Bora beat me to this one (which is what I get for not posting about it yesterday morning when I first saw the story), but some holy water is coming out of a tree in San Antonio, and why has not yet been solved:
SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 12) - Is it an artesian spring, a broken water pipe or an abandoned well? Lucille Pope's red oak tree has gurgled water for about three months, and experts can't seem to get to the root of the problem.
Pope, 65, has sought answers from the Texas Forest Service, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and nurseries. They have taken pictures and conducted studies, but none have arrived at a firm answer.
"I got a mystery tree," Pope said in Friday editions of the San Antonio-Express News. "What kind of mystery do I have where water comes out of a tree?"
Her son, Lloyd, 47, discovered water leaking from the tree in April. He said it was cool, like it came from the tap. The only damp spot around the tree trunk is where the water lands.
Mark Peterson, a regional community forester from the Texas Forest Service said he believes it could be a spring, but pointed out that would be rare with the drought conditions this summer.
Apparently it has some miraculous powers:
Lucille Pope has started to wonder if the water has special properties. Her insurance agent dabbed drops of the water on a spider bite and the welt went away, she said."I just want to know if it is a healing tree or blessed water," she said. "That's God's water. Nobody knows but God."
Can a pilgrimage of the faithful to San Antonio be long off? Any time now, I expect to hear of miraculous cures caused by this water. How long before the Popes start bottling and selling the water as a "cure" for what ails you?
In any case, you can vote on whether you think it's truly "God's water." The vote tallies are running pretty evenly so far.
Orac, I have a Holy Shovel (TM pending) and I am willing to travel (back) to San Antonio to employ this Sacred Entrenching Tool to uncover the root of the mystery. At someone else's expense, of course.
Wow. A spider bite went away? Usually those things have to be removed surgically! I'm hopping a plane for Texas right away! (I hope it works, because I won't be able to bring my tube of Benadryl onto the plane with me.)
I think that all God's chidren oughter
Travel south to drink this water
And none of them should think it odd
That a single tree taps into God
I know that there can only be
Holy water from this tree.
How do I know, it should be clear
I came and read about it here
Wow, and her name is Pope! That reminds me:
Water at statue draws believers
The vote's running 40% against God and 28% for, with a big undecided.... I think we need dowsers to find the source!
Actually I can see this becoming a major pilgrimage spot. Kinda like in Chicago when people believed the stain made by water on the wall looked like the Virgin Mary. However, I'm sure there's a rational, logical explanation. The tree grew over a sprinkler head and it broke or something like that.
Put San Antonio on hold! You've got to get to Mumbai for some sweet seawater!