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King Kong Lived?

Agent Provocateur writes "McMaster University recently announced the discovery of the remains of a gigantic ape, measuring over 3 meters tall and weighing up to 600kg, that supposedly co-existed alongside humans." From the article: "Jack Rink, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at McMaster, has determined that Gigantopithecus blackii, the largest primate that ever lived, roamed southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago. This was known as the Pleistocene period, by which time humans had already existed for a million years."

25 of 404 comments (clear)

  1. Makes me wonder.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Makes me wonder if someone was paid to withhold this information untill King Kong's release or is being paid to release it when it's unconfirmed..

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    1. Re:Makes me wonder.. by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 4, Funny

      Biologists now know that this was where pro wrestlers came from. See Nature magazine, Dec 2005, p435 "Prehistoric Smackdown Confirmed by Carbon-Dating".

    2. Re:Makes me wonder.. by holyceefax · · Score: 4, Funny
      ...or is being paid to release it when it's unconfirmed..
      Are you suggesting that the esteemed 'McMaster' university, CA, (or its 'McProfessor' of 'McAnthropology') might be less than reputable? Or that the name Gigantopithecus blackii (="Great big black thing"?) might not have been agreed upon by the wider anthropological community?
    3. Re:Makes me wonder.. by ekwhite · · Score: 4, Informative

      This guy is big, but hardly gigantic. He appears to be about twice as big as a modern lowland gorilla. For comparison, an average grizzly bear can weigh up to 1500 pounds and top 10 feet tall. The worlds record Kodiak bear was 2500 pounds and 13 feet tall. The worlds record black bear was over 900 pounds.

  2. What killed the giant apes? by Slur · · Score: 4, Funny


    "Oh no. It wasn't the asteroids. T'was beauty that killed the beast!"

    .

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  3. Obligatory... by m00j · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our, wait they died out! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

    1. Re:Obligatory... by MadMoses · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is that you, Anakin?

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      Do not be alarmed. This is only a test.
    2. Re:Obligatory... by Hellasboy · · Score: 4, Funny

      don't answer that question... it's a trap!

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  4. Of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    All sorts of strange creatures existed during the plasticine era. I thought everyone knew that.

  5. BMI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Body-mass index of 66.7. Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater. No wonder they got extinct.

  6. Oh, the irony... by BrynM · · Score: 4, Funny
    I nearly thought it was suddenly April 1 when I read the fourth paragraph:
    Research into Gigantopithecus blackii began in 1935, when the Dutch paleontologist G.H. von Koenigswald discovered a yellowish molar among the "dragon bones" for sale in a Hong Kong pharmacy.
    Hmmm, the 30's and the word "kong" in there twice? Then again, TFA never mentions King Kong (which Gigantopithecus blackii is about 10 feet too short for), so maybe the association is there for subliminal hype. Those marketers are sooooo clever. Damn marketers.
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  7. So we metric system users... by OpenSourced · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... can now speak about the 600 Kg gorilla. Good.

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  8. Yeah. by dirtsurfer · · Score: 5, Funny

    a gigantic ape, measuring over 3 meters tall and weighing up to 600kg, that supposedly co-existed alongside humans."

    We still have these today. You can track one down by listening for its unmistakable cry; "Developers! Developers! Developers!"

  9. Re:Gigantic wang. by BrynM · · Score: 5, Funny
    Scientists also estimate this gorilla had a penis larger than the leg of a full grown man.
    Hence the name "Gigantopithecus blackii". It means "penis as large as a black guy" in pig latin or something like that. Or maybe it means "my giant penis will give you a black eye". I bet that's it. It's a warning label. Yep, that's it.
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  10. I see 'em all the time... by ChePibe · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see apes like that all the time here on campus. But we don't have a fancy name for them - here they're called, "offensive linemen."

  11. Not "recently discovered" by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Informative
    According to the crack Slashdot editorial team: "McMaster University recently announced the discovery of the remains of a gigantic ape".

    In fact, TFA says "Research into Gigantopithecus blackii began in 1935". (70 years ago, recent on the geological scale, perhaps.) The article is about a new dating method that determined that the ape "roamed southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago", the same period humans were developing, and thus the possibility of interaction, or that we wiped them out.

  12. This is very old news by batmanmiles · · Score: 5, Funny

    The hell is this doing on Slashdot? It's in my freaking anthro textbook, fer chrissakes. My textbook.

  13. yeah right... by b4stard · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... next you're gonna tell me godzilla lived. Like there ever were a bunch of giant lizard roaming the earth. That's just silly.

  14. Re:Theories? by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Informative
    Is there anyone from Kansas with some *plausible* theories about this monkey?

    'There were giants in the earth in those days' - Genesis 6:4

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  15. Re:Theories? by apflwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there anyone from Kansas with some *plausible* theories about this monkey?

    It couldn't fit on the Ark.

  16. 100,000 years humans did not walk in asia by nietsch · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you take a look at this map, it suggests that modern man entered asia only about 70-60,000 years ago. So this ceartue may not have lived alongside early humans.
    Human history isn't that old really, wikipedia pegs the start of H.Sapiens at 200,000 years ago, and most of that time has been spent in Africa.

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    1. Re:100,000 years humans did not walk in asia by nietsch · · Score: 4, Interesting

      True, wikipedia is a source that you can never trust 100% for the reasons you cite. That is why I mentioned I got the info from wikipedia. It was just the first source google came up with that answered my question. I do not know about the other sites that google offered, so this is a good as any. Better the evil you know...

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    2. Re:100,000 years humans did not walk in asia by duckpoopy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wikipedia is just like a peer-reviewed journal where, by 'peer', I mean anybody who has access to the internet.

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  17. Re:Gigantic wang. by JemVai777 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What have 20% of the moderators been smoking?

    The aforementioned giant penis?

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  18. Re:Birth of a Legend by Vinnie_333 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Raven created the Earth sounds a lot like Genesis

    What era of Genesis. Cause I much prefer their earlier Progressive era with Peter Gabriel on vocals. The Phil Collins stuff is ok, but they got a bit too poppy towards the end.

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