Mini Mammoth Once Roamed Crete
ananyo writes "Scientists can now add a 'dwarf mammoth' to the list of biological oxymorons that includes the jumbo shrimp and pygmy whale. Studies of fossils discovered last year on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea reveal that an extinct species once thought to be a diminutive elephant was actually the smallest mammoth known to have existed — which, as an adult, stood no taller than a modern newborn elephant (abstract). The species is the most extreme example of insular dwarfism yet found in mammoths."
Time to switch to Gamemaker, I guess!
That was the final straw...
Mini Mammoth
Is that like then jumbo shrimp?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I thought this has been known for a while, and is the origin of the myth of the cyclops?
I want a mini mammoth almost as much as I want a direwolf.
Why couldn't they have recreated a herd of these guys instead of raptors?
Think 'Petting Zoo' instead of 'dying a horrible death'
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
It's not often that an article comes along, and tempts me to rename one of my body parts.
A mini mammoth makes for a mighty fine steak.
For those who may not be familiar with Girl Genius:
Mimmoths are tiny verminous mammoths. Originally somebody’s experiment, they escaped and quickly populated most of Europe. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live alongside them. They get into machinery and push things around with their tusks, wreaking havoc.
Miniature Giant Space Hamsters.... poor Boo, outdone by a hairy elephant.
In other news, the date of the invention of the slider has just been pushed back 18,000 years.
Mimmoth on a stick, anyone?
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Check out Wilma Flintstone's vacuum cleaner.
Or perhaps Bedrock was located on Crete?
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
Because if it's as good as baby elephant, count me in!
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
"I'll have a 6-pack of mini mammoth burgers"
"Would that be the 6-pack of mini mammoth-burgers or the mini-mammoth burgers?"
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Un mamut chiquitito (A tiny mammoth)
queria volar (wanted to fly)
probaba y probaba y no podia volar (triedand triedbut could notfly)
una palomita, su amiga, lo quiso ayudar (a dove, his friend, I wanted to help)
y de un quinto piso lo hizo saltar (Took him to the fifth floor and made him jump)
ah y que paso? (oh andwhat happened?)
Mierda (Shit!)
el mamut se hizo mierda (The mammoth shat himself)
mierda (Shit!)
el mamut se hizo mierda (The mammoth shat himself)
Un mamut chiquitito (Atiny mammoth)
queria fumar (wanted to smoke)
probaba y probaba (tried and tried)
y no podia fumar (but could notsmoke)
un perro, su amigo, lo quiso ayudar (a dog, his friend, hewanted to help)
y quinientos cigarrillos le hizo fumar (And made him smoke five hundred cigarettes)
y que pasó? (and what happened?)
cancer (Cancer!)
al mamut le dio cancer (They gave the mammothcancer)
cancer (Cancer!)
al mamut le dio cancer (They gave the mammothcancer)
Un mamut chiquitico (A tiny mammoth)
queria tomar (wanted to drink)
probaba y probaba (triedand tried)
y no podia tomar (and could not drink)
un oso, su amigo, lo quiso ayudar (a bear,his friend, hewanted to help)
y cien litros de whisky lo hizo tomar (and made him drink five hundred liters of whiskey)
y que pasó? (and what happened?)
cirrosis (cirrhosis!)
al mamut le dio cirrosis (It gave the mammoth cirrhosis)
cirrosis (cirrhosis!)
al mamut le dio cirrosis (It gave the mammoth cirrhosis)
Un mamaut chiquitico (A tiny mammoth)
queria debutar (Wanted to get fucked)
probaba y probaba (triedand tried)
y no podia debutar (and could notget fucked)
un burro, su amigo, lo quiso ayudar (a donkey,his friend, hewanted to help)
y con cien prostitutas lo hizo debutar (andgot him a hundred prostitutes to screw)
aah y que paso? (aahandwhat happened?)
sida (AIDS)
al mamut le dio sida (It gave the mammoth AIDS)
sida (AIDS)
al mamut le dio sida (It gave the mammoth AIDS)
Un mamut chiquitico (A tiny mammoth)
se queria drogar (wanted to do drugs)
probaba y probaba (triedand tried)
y no se podia drogar (but could not do drugs)
un gato, su amigo, lo quiso ayudar (a cat,his friend, hewanted to help)
y diez lineas de coca le hizo probar (and made him try tenlines of cocaine)
y que paso? (andwhat happened?)
sobredosis (overdose)
el mamut con sobredosis (the mammoth overdosed)
sobredosis (overdose)
el mamut con sobredosis (the mammoth overdosed)
y ahora que le paso? (and then what happened?)
se murio? [se murio] (itdied?[itdied])
Se murio! (Hedied!)
el mamut se murio! (the mammoth died!)
se murio (Hedied)
el mamut se murio (the mammoth died!)
se murio (Hedied!)
el mamut se murio (the mammoth died!)
se murio (Hedied!)
el mamut se murio (the mammoth died!)
Mammoths are so named because they are... get this... "large". In fact, the word itself is an adjective that actually means the same thing as large. Mini means "small", so the notion of a mini-mammoth seems to me to be about as much of a contradiction in terms as the idea of a square triangle.
(now watch this... some pedantic slashdotter is actually going to reply to this after finding some reference to something that could arguably be a "square triangle" just to prove me wrong. Or, on the other hand, maybe they won't now that I've suggested it... but then again, they still might just to cross me up because they think I won't be expecting it because I already mentioned it ... Oh, I dunno).
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
We've known about Pygmy Mammoths on California's Channel Islands for ages. (Though it does sound like the species on Crete were even smaller.)
So, perhaps this is some sort of basis for the minotaur myth? Sure, it's not a bull, but a baby hairy elephant with tusks isn't that far off. Slap on a few thousand years of the game of telephone and you have the minotaur
Q: Why can't programmers tell the difference between New Years and Halloween?
A: Because DEC25 = HEX31