When the research submarine Alvin sank in the Atlantic off Woods Hole, Mass., in 1968, its three crew members managed to scramble to safety. But their box lunches went to the bottom with Alvin—5,000 feet down. Those uneaten meals, it was revealed in Science last week, eventually provided researchers with valuable new information about the workings of life processes in the ocean depths.
Ten months after the accident, when the little sub was raised and drained, scientists noticed that the six bologna sandwiches, two apples and two thermoses of bouillon seemed remarkably well-preserved—even...