SCIENCE

Blog Carnival #17: New Paleoblog, Sauropod Snow Sculpture, Young Earth Creationists and More…

February 26, 2010

Welcome a New Paleoblog: Why I Hate Theropods ironically calls our attention to a new site: The Theropod Database Blog.

Going for Broke: What do you do if you break a bone? (A dinosaur bone, that is.) Well, once you get over the humiliation of breaking something that has remained intact for several million years, David Hone at Archosaur Musings has a practical guide on how to deal with the problem.

The Young and Restless: Young Earth Creationists contend that all life on the planet was created sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago. The blog Stupid Dinosaur Lies presents a detailed taxonomy and debunking of these arguments, otherwise known as “The Seven F's of Young Earth Creationism: Fictional, Framed, Foredoom, Fascism, Fanaticism, Feint, and Folly.”

Connective Issue: The Disillusioned Taxonomist challenges readers to solve a photographic puzzle: “What’s the connection between the following animals?” (Including a fossilized trilobite and a lion.) The answer is here.

Interpretative Art: Peter Bond at ART Evolved presents a gallery of therizinosaur sketches and paintings. (One portrayal resembles an oversized, carnivorous zebra-striped turkey.) “Therizinosaurs have had a long and convoluted history when it comes to reconstructions. Meat-eater or plant-eater? Prosauropod or coelurosaur? Skin or feathers? These questions led to wild variations in what a therizinosaur looked like!”

Blasts From the Past: Catalogue of Organisms presents “A Beginner’s Guide to Blastoids.” (Coolest. Species. Names. Ever.)

Psychedelic Trilobites: Walcott’s Quarry bemoans the lack of color in fossils, prompting two trilobites to experiment with a bold new look.

Saltasaurus and Peppernychus: Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs exalts over a discovery in an antique shop: A vintage pair of dinosaur salt and pepper shakers. Apparently, the design concept is quite rare: “This is, in my opinion, one of the most grievous oversights in the history of kitchenware. Disgraceful.”

Ice Age: SV-POW! posts remarkable photos that are a guaranteed cure for the winter blues: giant sauropod snow sculptures.

A T-Rex Walks Into a Bar: “Perhaps because they're no longer around to lodge any objections, dinosaurs (and other prehistoric reptiles) have increasingly become the butt of kindergarten-level knock-knock jokes,” notes Bob’s Dinosaur Blog, which presents a few of his own humorous quips.