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Science 11 December 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5396, p. 1983
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5396.1983d
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Random Samples

From fingerprints to mountain ranges, so-called "zebra patterns" have one defining feature: Ridges separated by a constant distance but otherwise randomly self-organizing. One zebra pattern found in a cave in a German limestone quarry was cast from a 184-cm chunk of 30-million-year-old limestone. The pattern extended over several square meters, says Yale geologist Adolf Seilacher. What created it remains a mystery, although the artist was probably not living: "Inorganic processes can produce magnificent patterns." Seilacher is the force behind the exhibit of casts, called "Fossil Art," which is on view at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History through 3 January.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)