A research team at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography found a way to distinguish the magnetism that clay materials acquire over time from the magnetism those materials acquired the day they were made, giving museums everywhere a chance to detect fake artifacts.
Is this real or just a set up for that joke?
Setup, but the fact that it’s believable until the punchline and can be worked into casual conversation is, in my opinion, what makes it a good joke. :P