Pluto and the Triceratops

I know this is a bit deviant from my normal posting, but I wanted to share some sad news. Two scientists from the University of the Rockies in Montana have 'discovered' that Triceratops may not have been a species, but rather a 'child' of the Torosaurus species.

Photo source.

While this isn't a major news item yet, places like The Huffington Post and Gizmodo have articles up about this new research. You may remember when a similar attack on childhood was made back in 2006 when scientists stripped poor Pluto of its planet status.

At least Pluto got its own verb according to the American Dialect Society. To pluto is to demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet. Read the Society's Words of the Year 2006 packet here for other great new words.

Personally, the triceratops will always be one of my favorite dinosaurs. Even though Sarah was a pretty frisky character in The Land Before Time, she was just lonely for her family.



So here's to you, triceratops, for entertaining kids everywhere and keeping them interested in science.

Cheers, Kate

First Edition Please

The grandmother of a good friend recently passed, and while families are sensitive during a time of loss, there is always the uncomfortable occupation of dividing up possessions and mementos. Luckily for this friend, her grandmother had a complete first edition set of the Wizard of Oz books she read growing up. What a marvelous heirloom.

Today the Huffington Post posted a slide show of the most expensive first editions sold. They include a $86,500 copy of Absalom, Absalom! inscribed by Faulkner, a $5 million copy of the complete First Folio of William Shakespeare, and a $104,000 copy of Jane Austen's Emma. I'd love to have anything as extraordinary on my bookshelf.



Source.

What wonders are hiding in your family closet?