Now wouldn't it be a twist if the T-Rex was actually a giant fluffy and cuddly Big Bird in reality?
Also, they might have ruled for a thousand times longer than we did, but did they have opposable thumbs? Did they produce the miracle of microwave popcorn? Did they build technologies that threatened their own existence and then continue doing so even as they careened toward an uncertain future brought about by those technologies?
Someone once tentatively claimed that they have reappeared in the forms of our large/huge machines. In the form of bulldozers,, the huge drag lines used in mining operations and the huge trucks used to transport the ore. Army tanks and the many variants thereof.
Brontosaurus was one of my faves too! I remember seeing hills, and imagining that, one day, there was a lizard-like creature the same size as that hill. It just blew my little kid mind.
Yesterday, I was watching King Kong (2005) and saw some fascinating dinosaurs. Curious about these species, I started researching to see if these gigantic animals were truly harmless, and look what I found: only 35% of the total dinosaur population consisted of carnivores. The remaining 65% were herbivores! I just wanted to learn more about them, and bingo! What wonderful coverage, Andrew! Did you read my mind? What a coincidence!
So, shall we say the age of Dinosaurs did not end 200 million years ago even though they are not dominating the animal kingdom anymore?
However, nature would have taken care of the giant creatures eventually with or without an asteroid, if the below is accurate:
While evolution favors larger creatures, extinction seems to favor the small. The larger a species' body size, the more likely the species is to go extinct. "The tendency for evolution to create larger species is counter-balanced by the tendency of extinction to kill them off," Clauset told LiveScience. "The distribution of sizes over time is stabilized because these processes balance out."
I think it's still fair to say it's not the age of dinosaurs, exactly, just because birds don't exactly dominate the ecosphere... but it's also kinda subjective. Some birds really are apex predators, except for humans who are the only natural predators.
This is one of my all time favorite dinner topics to discuss with my nieces and nephews. When offering them chicken I say, "Would you like some dinosaur?" The initial disbelief on their faces followed by the awe as I explain how dinosaurs evolved to avoid extinction is so adorable to watch. Easiest shortcut to being the "smart uncle". 😂😂
Every time I hear a screaming sea mew, I'm glad that it's not ten times bigger.
My favourite one was triceratops, as it did not scare me when I watched Jurassic Park. An interesting fact is that the movie franchise is not scientifically accurate, and for example, velociraptors did not exist in such a shape as shown in the movie.
"John Ostrom, who discovered Deinonychus, was also consulted by Crichton for the novel, and later by director Steven Spielberg for the film adaptation. Ostrom said that Crichton based the novel's Velociraptors on Deinonychus in 'almost every detail', but ultimately chose the name Velociraptor because he thought it sounded more dramatic" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptors_in_Jurassic_Park
I'd give Jurassic Park a B-, maybe. It definitely helped to raise awareness of feathers and other bird-like characteristics in a way that just didn't exist in the popular shows and films of the 70s and 80s I grew up with, but the inaccuracy of the time involved marks it down quite a bit.
The Canadian science fiction author Robert Sawyer wrote a trilogy of novels- "Far Seer", "Fossil Hunter" and "Foreigner"- about what would have happened if the comet hadn't destroyed the dinosaurs and they evolved to be something like humans. Interesting idea.
Huxley was such a strong supporter of Darwin that he was known as "Darwin's bulldog".
In my case, the title of favorite dinosaur goes to Dino, the dog-like lizard from "The Flintstones".
Now wouldn't it be a twist if the T-Rex was actually a giant fluffy and cuddly Big Bird in reality?
Also, they might have ruled for a thousand times longer than we did, but did they have opposable thumbs? Did they produce the miracle of microwave popcorn? Did they build technologies that threatened their own existence and then continue doing so even as they careened toward an uncertain future brought about by those technologies?
I didn't think so!
This sounded better in my head.
"Sounding better in my head" is what winning looks like.
Then I'm practically a champion.
https://ericgoebelbecker.com/what
Nice!
The Far Side!
Slapped it together in a rush. Couldn't find one that had the masthead.
And dinosaurs didn't know who their grandparents were. :-)
Also also, did they have memes? Checkmate, giant lizards.
One of them even reincarnated as Donald Trump!
Someone once tentatively claimed that they have reappeared in the forms of our large/huge machines. In the form of bulldozers,, the huge drag lines used in mining operations and the huge trucks used to transport the ore. Army tanks and the many variants thereof.
Submarines and aircraft too.
Who knows!
David Attenborough made two great docs about them. They're exquisitely made. Watch them if you have the chance.
Thanks, Rene!
Watching my Cockatoo hop along the floor it's not a stretch at all. My bird seems very dinosaur-like.
My favorite dinosaur 🦕 was the Brontosaurus which is no longer considered a species. That's how old I am.
Brontosaurus was one of my faves too! I remember seeing hills, and imagining that, one day, there was a lizard-like creature the same size as that hill. It just blew my little kid mind.
Yesterday, I was watching King Kong (2005) and saw some fascinating dinosaurs. Curious about these species, I started researching to see if these gigantic animals were truly harmless, and look what I found: only 35% of the total dinosaur population consisted of carnivores. The remaining 65% were herbivores! I just wanted to learn more about them, and bingo! What wonderful coverage, Andrew! Did you read my mind? What a coincidence!
Nice! I looooooved dinosaurs when I was a kid - and hey, what kid didn't?
I used to think about how ridiculously big the brontosaurus was, at least until I learned about blue whales. Such a fun topic.
So, shall we say the age of Dinosaurs did not end 200 million years ago even though they are not dominating the animal kingdom anymore?
However, nature would have taken care of the giant creatures eventually with or without an asteroid, if the below is accurate:
While evolution favors larger creatures, extinction seems to favor the small. The larger a species' body size, the more likely the species is to go extinct. "The tendency for evolution to create larger species is counter-balanced by the tendency of extinction to kill them off," Clauset told LiveScience. "The distribution of sizes over time is stabilized because these processes balance out."
https://santafe.edu/news-center/news/bigger-is-better-until-you-go-extinct
I think it's still fair to say it's not the age of dinosaurs, exactly, just because birds don't exactly dominate the ecosphere... but it's also kinda subjective. Some birds really are apex predators, except for humans who are the only natural predators.
Then again, birds control the skies!
This is one of my all time favorite dinner topics to discuss with my nieces and nephews. When offering them chicken I say, "Would you like some dinosaur?" The initial disbelief on their faces followed by the awe as I explain how dinosaurs evolved to avoid extinction is so adorable to watch. Easiest shortcut to being the "smart uncle". 😂😂
I have come up with a suitable movie tagline:
"In a world of dead dinosaurs, be a chicken."
Every time I hear a screaming sea mew, I'm glad that it's not ten times bigger.
My favourite one was triceratops, as it did not scare me when I watched Jurassic Park. An interesting fact is that the movie franchise is not scientifically accurate, and for example, velociraptors did not exist in such a shape as shown in the movie.
"John Ostrom, who discovered Deinonychus, was also consulted by Crichton for the novel, and later by director Steven Spielberg for the film adaptation. Ostrom said that Crichton based the novel's Velociraptors on Deinonychus in 'almost every detail', but ultimately chose the name Velociraptor because he thought it sounded more dramatic" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptors_in_Jurassic_Park
I'd give Jurassic Park a B-, maybe. It definitely helped to raise awareness of feathers and other bird-like characteristics in a way that just didn't exist in the popular shows and films of the 70s and 80s I grew up with, but the inaccuracy of the time involved marks it down quite a bit.
The Canadian science fiction author Robert Sawyer wrote a trilogy of novels- "Far Seer", "Fossil Hunter" and "Foreigner"- about what would have happened if the comet hadn't destroyed the dinosaurs and they evolved to be something like humans. Interesting idea.
Huxley was such a strong supporter of Darwin that he was known as "Darwin's bulldog".
In my case, the title of favorite dinosaur goes to Dino, the dog-like lizard from "The Flintstones".