In the 19th century, when it was established that life had begun in the oceans, some scientists reasoned that the earliest forms of life might still be there, hidden in the deep, dark recesses of the open sea, where human beings cannot descend. They were certain that in that world of darkness lay the first forms of life. They even had a name for that oceanic nursery. They called it the "Urschleim." They chose a German name to give it scientific respectability.

In 1872, Sir Charles Thomson left England aboard a ship called the Challenger to sail through all the oceans of the world to test this theory. For four years they sailed the oceans, sixty-nine thousand miles, dragging the ocean bottom. They found rare forms of life, many of which were grotesque, but they didn't find anything new. Ti…