Blog Carnival #8: Stegosaurus, Polish Dinosaurs, Velociraptor Clappers

Stegosaurs of Terror!!!! “Most of us think as Stegosaurus as plodding, dimwitted giants only fit to end up as plates of meat for a hungry predator,” observes the World We Don’t Live In. “And yet, despite all this negative publicity, Stegosaurus has had its shining moments. Various authors have latched onto stegs as a potential deadly killer.” Be sure to check out this lively, pop-culture overview of lethal Stegosaurs…if you dare.

Of course, a Brontosaurus would prefer a convertible: A classic photo from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Archives, courtesy of Palaeoblog.

It’s a British Thing: “What is it with English people and dinosaurs?” asks Bob’s Dinosaur Blog. (Haven’t we all asked that question?) In March, a group of drunk college students from Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester were caught trying to steal a 20-foot-long Triceratops model from the local museum. And now, thieves have made off with dozens of valuable artifacts from Dinostar, “Yorkshire's only dinosaur visitor attraction.”

Pit Stop: Dinochick alerts us to a new blog—“The Burpee Museum of Natural History”—which will feature ongoing updates on the excavation of a recently discovered dinosaur bone pit in southern Utah.

Next Time You’re in Poland: The “Thrifty Expat,” always on the lookout for cheap entertainment options when abroad, recommends two dinosaur parks in Warsaw: Park Dinozaurów and Zaurolandia (which has an English-language website where you can play Jurassic versions of popular video games such as Zauropac and Dinotris).

Handiwork: Could a Velociraptor really turn a doorknob, as in Jurassic Park? David Hone explains why theropods are “clappers, not slappers.” The news, however, offers little comfort to the folks over at Tyrannosaur Chronicles, who regale us with their harrowing photoshopped exploits when they were attacked by raptors in their own museum.

Brian Wolly | | READ MORE

Brian Wolly is the digital editor of Smithsonian.com