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bossbeth

the-original-b

Here’s one good thing to come out of 2020:

Paleontologists completed a life-sized replica of Sue, the most complete T. Rex ever found.

And she is freaking GORGEOUS!

As I read more about this beauty, I found out some new details regarding things I thought I previously knew about the beast that was Tyrannosaurus Rex, and I’m going to share them with you.

First, and most obvious, her size:

This is nothing new, we all figured T. Rex was big, but I for one never stopped to consider exactly how big it was. Nobody ever really knows what to imagine when they read about something the size of a whale that walked around and ate everything it could kill.

Speaking of eating things, I just want to remind you all that T. Rex had–by miles–the strongest bite of any terrestrial animal living or dead, somewhere around six and a half tons of force. That’s over six times greater than the current estimate of what Allosaurus was capable of, and three times what was delivered by the highest measured reading of the living title holder–the estuarine crocodile. It didn’t have to waste time swinging its head open-mouthed like Saurophaganax for a little extra oomph, or grow fancy serrated teeth like Carcharodontosaurus to cut pieces out of its prey. It opted for the simplest approach: get its mouth around something and crush it to death; imagine the full weight of an elephant on whatever was between this thing’s jaws.

“How did it find something to eat?” I hear you asking. “It can’t see something if it doesn’t move, right?”

Listen, I love Jurassic Park too, but that’s a big crock of shit.

Notice how both her eyes face forward. That gives her binocular vision (the ability to focus both eyes on one target, like you and I). More importantly it means she has impeccable depth perception due to overlapping fields of vision from each, large, eyeball. Researchers agree that T. Rex not only had incredible vision, but that it was probably better than most modern animals–including eagles, hawks, and owls–and that she could likely spot something three and a half miles away. If something that big can see that well, it doesn’t matter if you move or not, she’d be able to tell if it was an animal trying to hide or a piece of vegetation. So pray she isn’t hungry if she lays eyes on you. And even if by some miracle she didn’t see you, she’d still smell you.

If she decided you looked tasty, you probably wouldn’t hear her coming as much as you’d feel her. Modern science indicates that T. Rex didn’t roar like in Jurassic Park, but rather bellowed or maybe even hissed like crocodilians. If she were on to you, you’d most likely feel this sense of unease creep up your spine as a low-pitched rumble in the air permeated through you. You wouldn’t know what it was or where it was coming from until you hear her footfalls. By then it’s too late–you could try to run but she’d probably catch you. There’s plenty on YouTube that reconstructs what T. Rex may have sounded like, and it’s legitimately haunting.

To wrap all of this up, the one bit of good that came out of the cursed year that is 2020 is that this wonderful child of science and art came into the world, and reaffirmed my respect and admiration for the eight ton slab of muscle and teeth that is this magnificent creature.

…and it is nothing if not magnificent.

the-original-b

I honestly expected like three notes, what happened!?

hummingyogurt

Palaeontologists are the ones providing the data and advice but don’t give them full credit, this life-sized sculpture was created by ARTISTS, the artist team of @bluerhinostudio

They also created this Quetzalcoatlus that made the rounds online (image credit goes to National Geographic)

As well as many more amazing sculptures and dioramas, so please check them out here on Tumblr and on Instagram

They are currently working on a new Tyrannosaurus again which will be on display in Europe (image credit goes to Blue Rhino Studio)

Please give the amazing team of Blue Rhino Studio the credit they deserve

timetravelonion

Not to kill the buzz but where are the feathers??

hummingyogurt

As it stands now, there is no evidence for or against feathers on Tyrannosaurus specifically, so either way to depict it would be equally accurate at the moment, if feathers are present they would be on the back and shoulder region as that is the only spot that doesn’t have preserved skin impressions

Below is a handful guide by Dr. Mark Witton who happens to be both a palaeontologist and an artist:

femboi-milk

Fun fact! Sue officially uses they/them pronouns! Scientists don’t know if they were male or female. Because of that, and as a gesture of good will to the LGBT+ community, scientists officially use they/them pronouns to refer to SUE the T-Rex!

“(Please, do not body-shame our T. rex. SUE is perfect just the way they are. And, yes, “they” is correct there—scientists don’t know if SUE was male or female, so in the spirit of scientific accuracy and LGBTQ inclusivity, we’ve transitioned to singular “they/them” pronouns instead of calling SUE “she” or “her.”)”

(Source: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/press/sue-t-rexs-new-suite )

headspace-hotel

“Please, do not body-shame our T. rex” is the funniest thing I’ve seen in at least 20 minutes

hellenhighwater

I made a bunch of dried citrus garland and ornaments this year, and if you’re looking for low-budget high-impact gift ideas for the holiday season, I cannot recommend this enough. I have had nearly all of my aunts reach out to ask me for these already.

All you do is take oranges (and grapefruit, in my case, but you could use any citrus fruit, lemon and limes included. You could also do slices of apple or other fruits, but they don’t dry as pretty) and cut them into slim, even slices. Blot the slices as dry as you can get them with paper towel, then lay them flat on drying racks, if you have them, or cookie sheets if you don’t. The cookie sheets will take longer, but will probably produce flatter slices at the end. If you want to, you can take cloves and push them into the slices before you dry them; the oranges should contract around them and hold them in place.

Put these into the oven at 200-220 degrees F (93 C), and bake for at least 4 hours. Check them hourly; it may take up to 7 hours, depending on the thickness of your slices and oven air circulation. Take them out when they no longer feel wet or sticky to the touch.

A 5 lb bag of navel oranges was enough to garland most of this tree. All you need for that is a thick needle and some string (DMC embroidery floss works well, and is less than a dollar a skein at walmart and other chain stores). You just tie off the first orange, and then use the needle to go in and out each slice near the edges. If you’re making ornaments, check your local dollar store for bits of ribbon, jingle bells, beads or whatever else seems good to you. A hot glue gun is helpful but not necessary; all the ornaments here are just tied together.

I have plenty of herbs drying in my cupboard, so I also used some sprigs of rosemary and lavender, plus cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice. Rosemary is easy to find as live plants in the grocery section, and you can trim some off without killing the plant (and then you have i n f i n i t e r o s e m a r y). Get creative!

These smell fantastic, and should last multiple seasons if they’re dried allll the way and stored in airtight containers. (I chucked some of the odd bits into my mulling spices, which is lovely.) They’re a very old method of decorating and look beautiful even when they’re not perfect. If you’ve made these before, I’d love to see what you made!

alexwater13

Love this

guts2002-deactivated20211208

boyc4t

fckmypssywtharakemom

mikkeneko

I’m seeing a lot of posts/takes that start out “I simply can’t feel sorry for ScarJo…” and I’m just. like. who’s asking you to feel sorry for her? who’s asking for sympathy? nobody’s asking you to open your hearts, let alone your wallets. you don’t have to feel anything positive for her at all. legal right doesn’t require sympathy.

the question at hand is not “is scarjo a poor pitiable victim,” the question is “does Disney, as a corporate entity, have an obligation to fulfill its contracts, carry out its obligations, and keep its promises” and, yes? the answer is absolutely yes? your feelings on scarjo as a person should have absolutely zero bearing on the answer to this question

if anything it’s Disney who’s asking for pity, for sympathy, to be let off from having to do things it doesn’t want to do because its life is just so haaaaaard right now with the pandemic, and you know what? I simply can’t feel sorry for disney.