I have recently become aware of an email newsgroup of paleontologists from museums and universities around the globe. I am obsessed. These are a few of the things I have learned:
• Did you know there is a faction of avian paleontologists who do not believe dinosaurs evolved into birds? They are referred to as “BANDits” (Birds Are Not Dinosaurs). They are also referred to as “BAND Camp”. One of the people on the newsgroup suggested that those who believe that dinosaurs did evolve into birds should call themselves “BADdies” (Birds Are Dinosaurs). I am in love with this faction-bating snarkiness.
• Despite its many scientific and plot flaws, some paleontologists on the newsgroup are as obsessed with Jurassic Park as I am. There was a flurry of emails debating whether a Jurassic Park 4 is in the works. (This movie will be terrible.) But I don’t care that velociraptors were not 6′ tall, or that even at 16 I knew that filling in the gaps using amphibian DNA was a terrible idea. I read all the books and saw the first Jurassic Park in the theater eleven times. Because, DUDE. DINOSAURS. I’m happy I’m in good company.
• In reply to an email announcing yet another ceratopsian in 2010, one person replied, “Cleaned out my cupboards, found a ceratopsian.” In the same thread, referring to this quote: “Geologically—and paleogeographically—Siberia and Alaska are the same place,” another user replied: “So in a way, Sarah Palin was right. :-)” Paleontologists are funny!
• Some of my favorite thread titles from just October 2010: “Department of Defense and Flying Snakes”, “Sweating in Dinosaurs?”, “Tyrannosaurus Tail Torque” and “Godzilla v. Cthulu”. The whole archive is filled with these goodies, and the archives reach back to 1994.
I will certainly be keeping you posted about any news that I learn from the Dinosaur Mailing List. If you would like to explore the archives yourself, you may do so here.
From what I’ve read, I think that they did evolve into birds. At least, that’s where the evidence points.
11 times, Mary!? We should be best friends.
… the fact that I was merely two years old when the film came out doesn’t even matter.
My wife and I decided a year or two ago that fuck it, Jurassic Park is our favorite movie.
Raise your hand if you’ve noticed that the nameless park workers all wear pink belts and socks.
And you worried about nerd-cred? You’re like the best kind of nerd out there!!!
Whenever I am watching a show where ridiculous pseudoscience is used to support an essential plot point, I just kind of mentally replace it with “blah blah blah handwaving yeah”. (When they use it to support a non-essential plot point, or when actual science would satisfactorily explain it, THEN I get mad.)
That said, yes, Jurassic Park is AWESOME.
If the Stranger can support not one but two World of Warcraft guilds, maybe it could support a showing of Jurassic Park at a local theatre? Maybe with a local paleontologist speaking about stuff? A kind of mini-Stranger-Dino-Con? (When I say “support”, I mean “mobilise fans for”, not “fund”…)
Mary, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this little collection of dino-newsgroup stories. I visited the archive and five minutes quickly turned into half an hour…I could lose an entire workweek to that site! So funny, so smart.
There is disagreement about some fossil evidence and how it fits together. The 3 dimension recreation of leg bones has some thinking the legs are more like a crocadillian ancestor where the legs splay out instead of fitting underneath like a bird’s do. But that’s been largely discredited.
I have it on good authority that bats are actually giant bugs.