Slashdot Mirror


When Dinosaurs Battled Crurotarsans

onehitwonder writes "Reuters reported yesterday on new scientific research that indicates how dinosaurs beat out another early reptilian species for domination of the earth. Roughly 200 million years ago, dinosaurs battled with another dinosaur-like animal, the crurotarsan, which is related to the crocodile. Some species grew to 39 feet long, according to the article, at an epoch when few dinosaurs exceeded 10 feet in length. Scientists used to believe that dinosaurs beat out the crurotarsans because the dinosaurs were physiologically superior. But new research indicates that dinosaurs might have won out due to a large stroke of cosmic luck, the nature of which is speculative."

11 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Errata by Bemopolis · · Score: 4, Funny

    Roughly 6000 years ago, dinosaurs battled with another dinosaur-like animal,

    Fixed that for you, Kansas.

    --
    "I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
    1. Re:Errata by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

      Roughly 6000 years ago, dinosaurs snuggled and played with another dinosaur-like animal,

      Fixed that for you, Kansas.

      Fixed your fix. This was the garden of Eden, remember? Everybody loved everybody in Eden.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:Errata by spun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Jeez, Otter, what crawled up your butt and died? The fact that in the 21st century, some people still think the Earth is only 6,000 years old because they misinterpreted a stupid fable, is funny.

      You don't like us making fun of stupid religious people, but then you call us stupid. Are you a religious person? Do you think the world is only 6,000 years old? Why are you making such a big deal about this? I don't get it.

      If it is only because the joke is old, I got news for you. People like old familiar jokes. You may have noticed, people here still quote a comedian who hasn't played outside of Laughlin, Nevada for decades. Do you also bitch and whine about the 'Soviet Russia' jokes? Do you rail about the stupidity of people quoting the Simpsons, or making Natalie Portman/Hot Grits comments?

      Maybe this making fun of stupid religious beliefs hits a little close to home? What ARE your beliefs in that regard?

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    3. Re:Errata by Xtifr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Now there's a dumb comment. I don't like stupid black people or stupid Asian people or stupid Jewish people or stupid Muslims or stupid white people or stupid programmers or stupid...anything. Nothing to do with the race, skin color, religion, gender, sexual preference or whatever: I just don't like stupid people.

      I have absolutely nothing against religious people per se, but for some reason the ones in the US are letting the stupidest among them dominate the political debate, and that fills me with some contempt even for the smart ones. Speak out and make it clear that being religious doesn't automatically make you an idiot, or the idiots will be the only thing the rest of us see and associate with your religion!

      And by "speak out", I don't mean whine about how people are starting to assume that all US Xtians are idiots. Stand up and tell the idiots in your creed what idiots they're being. Publicly. Tell them that they're making a mockery of your religion. That'll earn you my respect.

    4. Re:Errata by Wonko+the+Sane · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Replace "religious" with "black" "asian" "jewish" "muslim" or any other name and you might actually realize how offensive your statements are.

      A person is born "black", "asian", or "jewish". "religious" is a personal decision, which makes it fair game for ridicule. (same applies obviously for "muslim")

    5. Re:Errata by spun · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Erm, the wife and I have an open marriage. We have three ways. We've been to orgies. We discuss sex in frank and matter of fact ways with our friends. We are not at all embarrassed by sex, and consider it private only in that we don't do it in public. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, as long as there are no kids present. The only reason that people think it should be private is because they think it is dirty, like taking a dump.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    6. Re:Errata by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We don't knock their beliefs because we disagree with them, we knock their beliefs because those beliefs are idiotic.

  2. Crurotarsans are... by metamechanical · · Score: 4, Insightful

    some kinda crocodile? Aw, here and I had this pegged for them to be the monster of the week on the SciFi late night "movie" "specials".

    --
    If I had a nickel for every time I had a nickel, I'd be richcursive!
  3. Re:Wow! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh, give him a break. Look at his UID. He's probably pushing 50 and nearly dead.

    Please have some respect for your elders.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  4. Re:Wow! by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    14 year olds are not uncommon on the Internet

    Those are FBI officers.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  5. Re:Flamebait? Jealous Much? by MBGMorden · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tell you what, sad little virginal mods, I'm going out with a new hot chick this Saturday, I'll screw her once extra just for y'all.

    You tell em! We studs gotta stick together.

    I'm actually going to be getting it on with Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Avril Lavigne, Lacey Chabert, and Keira Knightly tomorrow night. I've saved Natalie Portman and the hot tub full of grits for Sunday.

    So just get yer jealous selves outta here and let a playa play.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain