Rodents of Unusual Size

lowy writes "The New York Times has a story (free registration, blah, blah) reporting that paleontologists are claiming they have a nearly complete skeleton of a 1500-pound distant relative of the guinea pig. Would Westley and Buttercup have made it through the Fire Swamp if the R.O.U.S's were this big?"

Comments

Of Course they would ...

[altp]

--
Would Westley and Buttercup have made it through the Fire Swamp if the R.O.U.S's were this big?
--

Of course, I don't think they really exist.

See also...

[keesh]

From the bbc... No registration required

The Princess Bride

[RedWolves2]

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite Drinking games. You will get drunk within the first five minutes of the movie.

Drinking Game Rules:
When you hear a predetermined word or phrase, you must drink. Here are some of the catch phrases you MUST use for optimum enjoyment of this game:

Farmboy

As you wish.

Buttercup

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.

Inconceivable

True love.

Mawige.

Humperdink

Man in black.

Boo!

Rodents of unusual size

you truly have a dizzying intellect. Wait till I get going!

What's so funny? I'll tell you in a minute.

...and dream of large women.

hahahahahahahahahahaha... (thud)

I am not left-handed!

I'm not left-handed either!

Life is pain, highness...anyone that says otherwise is selling something.

Ever heard of Aristotle? Socrates? Yes. Morons.

Anybody want a peanut?

My way isn't sportsmanlike.

It is important to drink when ANY character says these catch phrases, as they occur in many places, even in the narration. You'll find that they occur more frequently than you might think.

Or, this non-reg link

[scootr1]

..to the UK's Independent:

link

Straight from the horse-sized rodent's mouth

[RobertB-DC]

If you don't like registration, just search news.google.com with appropriate keywords, and Voila! Horse-sized Rodents!

Re:Rodents of unusual size

[Anonymous Codger]

"Guinea pigs aren't rodents, they are cavies"

Just checked Britannica. A guinea pig is a cavy, and a cavy is a rodent "belonging to the family Caviidae (order Rodentia)".

Capybara anecdote

[ballpoint]

The capybara is a pretty big rodent too.

I saw and ate them when I was in Venezuela. Driving around we went to a steak house. Our ordering of a big steak was met with despise from the waiter. Oh yes, it was Good Friday and, Venezuela being a very Catholic country, they didn't want to serve meat.

Capybara was ok, however. They consider it to be a fish since it lives in swamps.

I didn't like it too much though; the meat is rather tasteless and fibery.

Rodents of Unusual Size?

[Skeezix]

I don't think they exist.

The only answer:

[cybermace5]

Would Westley and Buttercup have made it through the Fire Swamp if the R.O.U.S's were this big?

INCONCEIVABLE!!!

Um...

[Elwood P Dowd]

I'm a 180 lbs distant relative of a guinea pig.

Re:Rodents of unusual size

[barakn]

Hippos aren't pachyderms. They are in the order Artiodactyla, which also has the pigs, deer, camelids, giraffes, bovines (cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, etc.), and the pronghorn antelope. The horse is in the order Perissodactyla, which also includes tapirs and rhinos. Elephants are in their own order, Proboscidea. The closest living relative of the elephant is probably (debated by some) the hyrax (order Hyracoidea), a small guinea pig-like animal that you probably confused with the guinea pig. Also distantly related to the elephant is the order Sirenia, manatees and dugongs.

Thanks for trying to confuse the issue. Who the hell modded you informative?

Re:Princess bride references ++;

[barakn]

Nope. Rabbits/hares and pikas comprise the order Lagomorpha, but they occupy separate families, the Leporidae and the Ochotonidae.