[longshadow]

I think we ought to collect up the sort of rationally obtained knowledge which is denied here, and preserve it for future generations to rediscover after the end of the coming Second Dark Ages.

They tried that once. It was called the Library at Alexandria.

The "Primitive Deconstructionists" burned it.

[null and void]

A lot to be said for clay tablets...

[AndrewC]

They tried that once. It was called the Library at Alexandria.

The "Primitive Deconstructionists" burned it.

Last Updated:  Sunday, 2 March, 2003, 14:08 GMT

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Fire hits Alexandria library

The new library opened in October

A fire has broken out in Egypt's newly-opened Alexandria library, and 29 people have been rushed to local hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation.

The fire was blamed on a short circuit.

The extent of damage at Bibliotheca Alexandrina has yet to be determined, but the fire appeared to be restricted to fourth-floor administrative offices.

Sixteen fire engines rushed to the scene and put out the blaze in about 45 minutes. Fifteen ambulances were seen outside the evacuated library.

"We were evacuated to outside, then [the] fire department arrived. The smoke [has] stopped now - everybody is safe, thank God," Leila Dewidar, head of the library's grants division, said.

Student spectators

Fire contributed to the destruction of the original Alexandria library, one of the world's great centres of learning in the ancient world.