When Matthew Decker and his wife returned home from shopping, he noticed an object stuck in the mud that looked like it came from a legend. Due to a heavy rain and windstorm, the couple were struggling to get into their Kansas home as quickly as possible when Decker spotted a strange-looking ax in his front yard.
In an interview with NPR, Decker said, “We jumped out and I had a few kicks. More roots came out. Then I grabbed that object and pulled it hard and it came out with a crunch,” Decker continued. I held it up to the light as I stared at it in amazement. I had never seen anything like it before and I was astounded. The root almost went forward and became a handle for the ax.”
With its predictably impressive handle, this ax hasn’t yet had a superpower, but Decker says it felt magical when he first picked it up.
Massachusetts Arborist Association professor at the University of Massachusetts, Brian Kane, examined photographs of this ax to assess its authenticity and determine what root it was made of. Speaking to NPR, Kane said, “It’s certainly possible that this is happening, it’s hard to be sure it wasn’t Photoshopped, whoever did it did a great job,” Kane said. As long as the roots basically grow taller and branch like the branches at the tops of the trees.”
Kane isn’t sure how likely this type of pairing is to occur in nature: “If there were an area where the ax head was left on the ground and covered with earth, it would make quite a lot of sense for a root to find its way to the stalk,” said Kane. Kane also drew attention to the top and bottom of the ax head in the image to see how the root was attached: “What you see here is like some swollen tissue following the line of the ax head. That’s exactly what you would expect if a root is growing and something gets in its way. Around a rock like a growing root.”
Decker kept the ax in his locker for a week before deciding that an image of his new find should be shared. He snapped a photo of the ax and posted it on Reddit on Thursday, and the image quickly rose to the top of the front page
Although Decker loves the ax, he says they’re in a tight spot right now so he can sell it for cash, but no specific buyer has emerged yet
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