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Could dragons have existed?


Ayoungnerd

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A few weeks ago I watched the television premeire " Dragons: A fantasy made real". It showed how dragons could've flown, breathed fire, lived in the mezizoic era and eventually became extinct in the middle ages. I thought it was pretty good but I need more opinions about it to think how credulous this theory is in a wider perspective.

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A few weeks ago I watched the television premeire " Dragons: A fantasy made real". It showed how dragons could've flown, breathed fire, lived in the mezizoic era and eventually became extinct in the middle ages. I thought it was pretty good but I need more opinions about it to think how credulous this theory is in a wider perspective.

 

The show had nothing going for it but some neat special effects. And it was misleading. How? It presented itself in a documentary style: a despicable approach that crappy science channels - Discovery, The Learning Channel, and now Animal Planet - have stooped to in the past few years. Hey, did you know that baby dragons stay by their mothers sides for 6 months? That's what the documentary said. Hey, did you know that parent dragons breathe fire onto the egg-containing nests to incubate them? That's what the documentary said. Hey, did you know that sex of dragon offspring is determined by the temperature the eggs were "cooked" at? That's what the documentary said. Did you know that the shells of dragon eggs are fire proof? That's what the documentary said. Did you know that dragons had gas bladders? That's what the documentary said. Did you know that dragons had molars? That's what the documentary said. Hey, did you know that dragons ground platinum with their molars, using the platinum to catalyze the ignition of the H2 in their gas bladders? That's what the documentary said.

 

I wasn't misled because I know better, but my nephew - and even his mother to some degree (she was confused, not duped) - who is very sharp and into science, was misled by their saying that scientists had found a dragon frozen in ice and were able to dissect it,

 

The show should have been required by law to interject every 5 minutes a disclaimer that says, "This is all hypothetical crap that we fabricated: do not be misled into believing that any of this is real".

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Sure dragons exist, I have a bearded dragon myself. He doesn't breath fire or fly or anything but he's still a fun pet. Those dragons you're referring to are just plain fantasy though. Just be careful with what you see on TV and don't believe any of it unless you can verify it through numerous other sources.

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They did: they were called colloquially pterodactyls. They didn't breathe fire, and no knight in shining armor ever got the chance to try to slay one in the process of saving a damsel in distress, but they did exist!

 

The fire breathing part is an interesting issue: it pretty much would require the evolution of skin/muscle bone that would not get barbequed in use. It probably could happen though, its just that the existing fossils and life forms show that it hasn't evolved on Earth as far as we know. Who knows, maybe this is where birds will evolve. They already have beaks that are pretty tough material, and there's no reason why some sort of poison like snakes and other animals have evolved couldn't turn out to be quite flamable, then all you'd need would be teeth with properties similar to flint.

 

Evolution! Its an amazing thing!

 

Cheers,

Buffy

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In the pre-show ads the show starts with the premise what if Dragons had existed. The anchient reptiles that once walked this planet would to modern man appear very simular to the dragons of legend and myth. Granted they did not breath fire in the literal sence of the word. Some may have been able to spit poison and or acid base substances which if perhaps man had been around would have seemed like they spit fire of sorts. The legend about dragons probably came about via anchient man seeing the preserved evidence of huge lizard like creatures in the rock around them. Given anchient man's attempts at explaining things and the way gosip tends to work its not hard to figure out how the legends about them arose.

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The legend about dragons probably came about via anchient man seeing the preserved evidence of huge lizard like creatures in the rock around them.....
Or really interesting psychoactive substances, or strong ale...

 

Cheers,

Buffy

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all of those crazy stories you hear about centuries ago make so much sense when you consider mind alteration.

 

I've always found the cartoon series the Ninja Turtles was the product of a bit too much LDS back in the sixties also. Back in the days when I used to experiment and party the only time that series made any sence to me was when I was stoned. Yet I had kids that loved it. On that note try watching the Teletubbies straight.

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___I missed the show (I seldom watch cable). but did you know the Druid Dragon is different from the Chinese Dragon?

___The Kamoda Dragon carries deadly bacteria in its saliva; one bite & your dead in hours. No need to fly or run when you know for sure you're getting a meal. :eek:

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___The Kamoda Dragon carries deadly bacteria in its saliva; one bite & your dead in hours. No need to fly or run when you know for sure you're getting a meal. :eek:
The editor of the SF Chronicle, Phil Bronstein, survived a Komodo Dragon bite when his ex-wife, actress Sharon Stone gave him a birthday gift of an up-close-and-personal visit at the LA Zoo. For some reason it was a good idea to go into the habitat barefoot and the dragon thought his toes looked tasty. Phil survived, but the marriage did not....

 

As far as I know the poison isn't: its bacteria that if untreated will kill you. They think that T.Rex did the same thing based on the evolution of grooves in the teeth that enhance delivery of the nasty bugs.

 

Cheers,

Buffy

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___Right you are Buff; I didn't make that clear. Nice anecdote too!

___I once carved a bas relief dragon winding round a fat piece of bamboo; I think I gave it 5 toes per foot. Blacked it in with India ink & red ink for the flame. I probably mixed my cultures there huh?

___Thar be Dragons there!! :eek: :eek:

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It is bacteria that are deadly. The only two poisonous lizards are the Gila Monster and the Mexican Beaded Lizard (Looks like a Gila Monster but solid black). It can take a few days for the infection to turn deadly, but the Monitor lizards are excellent trackers. They just chomp on something and follow from a safe distance until it dies. The bacteria come from the rotting carrion that they are fond of. More than likely a captive Komodo would have very small cultuires of these toxic bacteria due to a zoo diet and medical care wich would almost certainly contain some anti-biotics. So a bite was probably just a chomp w/ little chane of infection, as well as triage and medical care would surely sterilize the wound and make the bite reasonably harmless.

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