Scared the hell out of me when I stumbled on them

August 27, 2016 8:30 AM

The Dinosaurs of Crystal Palace: Among the Most Accurate Renditions of Prehistoric Life Ever Made - a longish read by Darren Naish of the tetrapod zoology blog in Scientific American.
posted by thatwhichfalls (9 comments total)

"The two smaller pterosaurs were destroyed during the middle decades of the 20th century, allegedly because they were used as target practice when the grounds were home to barracks"

It's good to hear that someone in the British military is taking the threat of the impend9ng dinosaur wars seriously.
posted by Mayhembob at 9:14 AM on August 27, 2016 [4 favorites]

This was a fun read. Thanks!
posted by Squeak Attack at 1:39 PM on August 27, 2016

Oh, I meant to add, the comments are excellent.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 2:04 PM on August 27, 2016

Thanks for the great read.
I skipped the dinosaur park during my two trips to London but I hope I get to see it when I visit again. Blogs like these really make me appreciate the ingenuity of our predecessors. And their attention to detail. Just look at those scales!
posted by M. at 2:11 PM on August 27, 2016

Tom Scott (previously) made a video about their inaccuracy and why they should stay that way.
posted by Martijn at 3:05 PM on August 27, 2016

This was cool. I'm adding it to my list of places I'd like to visit. Thanks for the post.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:08 PM on August 27, 2016

God DAMN it! I just read this and was coming here to post it. I've read about Crystal Palace since I was a wee dinosaur nerd and it's always been given the LOL PEOPLE FROM THE PAST treatment. It's lovely to read a defense of it.
posted by brundlefly at 3:23 AM on August 28, 2016

There's nothing like the changing terminology around dinosaurs to make a person feel old. (What? We're not even calling them all "dinosaurs" anymore? I give up…)
posted by Lexica at 7:30 PM on August 29, 2016

Lexica, are you referring to the pterosaurs and marine reptiles? Those have never been called dinosaurs! It's just that the general public likes to lump anything big, scaly and extinct into that group.

Hell, I once talked to someone who thought that things like mammoths and saber-toothed cats should be considered "dinosaurs."
posted by brundlefly at 9:49 AM on September 9, 2016 [1 favorite]