# "Man has measured Heaven......."

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 13, 1999, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372 "1999-12-13T16:41:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/1 "1999-12-13T16:41:00Z")

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“Man has measured Heaven, has studied the path of the comets, he has discovered the traction, has invented the steam…and he still is not able to grow truffles”.

M.Burnet (1836)

Ignoring translation issues with the quote above, why can’t we farm truffles?

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/2 "1999-12-13T17:07:00Z")

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You can.

See this site  
[http://www.truffe-perigord-noir.com/](http://www.truffe-perigord-noir.com/)

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Quand les talons claquent, l’esprit se vide.  
Maréchal Lyautey

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**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/3 "1999-12-13T17:10:00Z")

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Apparently you can. This article

[http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/intl/0,3266,28738-1,00.html](http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/intl/0,3266,28738-1,00.html)  
says that this one farm produces 15% of the worlds truffle supply.

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“Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.”

Dennis Matheson — [dennis@mountaindiver.com](mailto:dennis@mountaindiver.com)  
Hike, Dive, Ski, Climb — [www.mountaindiver.com](http://www.mountaindiver.com)

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**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/4 "1999-12-13T17:20:00Z")

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## So, are you saying that some things have changed a little in the past 163 years?

Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan  
Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University  
“You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason.”

And mäni interesting furry animals

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**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/5 "1999-12-14T13:13:00Z")

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Considering the fact that ONE farm grows 15% of the world’s truffle supply, maybe the quote should be rectified to read “but it ain’t easy to grow truffles.”

I guess this is a little less poetic though.

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**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-has-measured-heaven/5372/6 "1999-12-16T20:06:00Z")

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According to the Perigourd site, it takes 15-20 years for a yield and by using the traditional method, you’re only going to get a 15% return. That’s if you can even find em using an expensively trained dog or a truffle hog. According to my friend, the going rate for truffles is $2,000/LB.

So it takes 20 years to get a 15% yield that you can only find with a special pig. I guess I should have phrased the OP as “why is it so freakin’ difficult to grow truffles?”