Thursday, March 02, 2006

Ashes and Dinosaurs

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday so I got my ashes and, of course, didn't eat any meat. Everybody was at church so I bailed after the ashes - but, I atoned for it by walking around in public, specifically the gym and Whole Foods, with my ashes on, and I figure that was a pretty good swap.
But, speaking of meat-eating creatures ...
Have you ever realized what idiots we're going to be when we grow up? I ask because it seems like everything we learned in school has since been proven false. Our kids totally are going to look at us innumerable times and go, "Duh!" Here's what prompted this thought: Dinosaurs were a big part of learning in school. From preschool up, we drew them, we colored them, we learned what they ate and how big they were, we saw their skeletons in museums. (We even watched "The Land of the Lost." Remember that show? They were always running away from all the dinosaurs.)
Anyway, one of the basic tenets of our Dino Ed was that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was the granddaddy of all carnivorous dinosaurs. So when we'd play, all the boys wanted to be the T Rex, right? And, the girls liked playing the peace-loving, herbivorous Brontosaurus, right?
Well, the whole big, bad T Rex thing can be thrown right out the window because
now they have found TWO other carnivorous dinosaurs bigger than the T Rex - the Giganotosaurus and the Spinosaurus - and they were some mighty scary-looking creatures. The T Rex, then, probably was the little kid who gets picked on at the playground. My, my, how things change.
Consider this our lesson for today. Next time we really need to know the biggest carnivorous dinosaur that ever existed, we can say, "Actually, it's not the
Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Giganotosaurus is bigger, and the Spinosaurus is the biggest." And, then some kid will look up at us and say, "Duh!" ; )

2 comments:

El Jefe Maximo said...

Yeah, isn't that trippy ? King today, little kid on the playground manana...

Still, the Dino-scientists need some help in the imagination dept. sometimes. I mean caling this new biggie the "Giganotosaurus." Calling it "Ginormosaurus" would have sounded so much spiffier.

Still probably good for another "Jurassic Park" sequel.

Kelly said...

If you live in Austin, can you recommend a church? Hubby and I have been looking a long time. Found your blog through my friend Mischa's.