RICHARD ORD: One billion of our dinosaurs is missing... probably more

There has been much talk of AI wiping out humanity sometime in the near future. Anywhere between 20 years and the next five minutes.
Richard Ord
By Richard Ord
Published 14th Jun 2023, 00:00 BST
He's above you! One of the few T-Rex dinosaur bone collections to be found in the world.He's above you! One of the few T-Rex dinosaur bone collections to be found in the world.
He's above you! One of the few T-Rex dinosaur bone collections to be found in the world.

Makes you think doesn’t it? Yep, I’d go for soft boiled eggs for tea too.

As disturbing as the thought of being hunted down and eradicated by a man-made abbreviation is, we wouldn’t be the first.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dinosaurs went pretty much the same way. Their existence was terminated by an equally unexpected abbreviation. The VBR did for them. Very Big Rock.

That asteroid impact (AI) plunged the Earth into perpetual darkness with the cataclysmic result that those giant dinosaurs kept bumping into each other and falling down manholes until they were no more, or something like that (I hadn’t finished reading the article, my egg timer was pinging). An interesting fact that I now spend a lot of my time boring people with (it helps me get a seat all to myself on the bus) is just how many T-Rex there were roaming the planet.

I put the ‘how many T-Rex?’ question to my girlfriend. ‘Dunno,’ she said, ‘Six hundred?’

Which is a fair enough reply, given there aren’t many of their skeletons knocking about in museums. About 40 at the last count… and don’t ask me who’s doing the counting. Bone Spotters probably.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Turns out there were more than two billion of the bleeders. You couldn’t move for Tyrannosaurus Rex back in the day. Barely any elbow room at all… which may account for the small arms.

So that’s 2.5 billion T-Rex and only 40 skeletons found so far. I’m sure it means something.

Specsavers may want to incorporate it into their next TV advertising campaign. How are we missing these enormous dinosaur bones? Archeologists (and they all wear glasses) may want to have their prescriptions checked.

Either that, or dinosaur dogs ate ‘em. If one of our readers with particular expertise in Paleontology (there were eight of you in the last census) can get in touch and clear up the confusion we’d be most grateful.

Anyway, I’m off to dip soldiers into my egg. Hopefully the T-Rex bone issue can be cleared up before AI does us in… or someone takes up that seat next to me on the Number 7. Whichever comes sooner.

Related topics:DinosaursSpecsavers