Germination bad strain?

so somebody lent one of my friends about 25 seeds he put them in a paper towel put them in a nice dark place and waited for them to germinate but not one germinated!!!!!! what is the problem here why wont these seeds germ?
its normally a piece of cake but could this be a bad strain...i think these seeds are from crossbreeding...anyone have an idea why these seeds didnt germ at all?? I'd hate for my friend to get 100$ nice ass seeds and not have 1 germ

paper towels and a ziplock....Put in a dark place

Seeds might be old? or bad