In 1927, University of Queensland physicist Thomas Parnell poured hot pitch into a sealed glass funnel. He let it settle for three years, cut the stem in 1930, and waited. Pitch feels solid and can shatter under a hammer, but it is a liquid with spectacular patience. The first drop took eight years to fall; the next five took seven to nine years each. Nine drops now sit beneath the funnel, making it the Guinness-recognized longest-running laboratory experiment. Most experiments produce results. This one produces suspense.