Michigan State University in the USA is famous for its education, agriculture and communication theories. But few people know that the university has been guarding 20 glass bottles for over a century. These bottles were created 137 years ago by a Dr. Liam Bill, who experimented with weeds in the crop fields. Each bottle contained 23 different types of plant seeds and was buried in various parts of the university, with the rule that every time a bottle was opened, five years had to elapse to see if the seeds still germinated. At this rate, it would take 100 years to open all 20 bottles. In the 1920s, the experiment was taken over by another professor, who decided to extend the period of opening bottles to 10 years, as the results became more stable and some seeds always germinated each time. For the same reason, the current “bottle keeper”, Professor Trotsky, decided to open the bottles once every 20 years. At this rate, the experiment will not end until at least 2100.　　At a party, a friend jokingly asked Trotsky: “Is your experiment with 20 broken bottles still worth doing? We don’t even know if the results will be useful!” “I can’t see the end result of the experiment either. But the next person in charge of the bottles will definitely pick up the experiment. Even if the experiment has now become ordinary, what a wonderful thing it is that our choice is to stick with it until the answer comes out!” Trotsky said.
　　

The experiment, which now spans a century, may seem like an extremely ordinary experiment, but it is surprising that no one, over countless bottle holders, thought it was wrong or put it down, and it has been done with single-mindedness until today. 20 glass bottles reflect the spirit of Michigan State University – persistent rigour and the search for truth.