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musicisforthesoul · 4 months

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The "YEG" Experience (Summer 2023)

This is Part 1 of my 2023 Year-End Blog Series. Hope you enjoy the read! :)

Having visited Edmonton in the Winter of 2022, I was very eager to go back simply for the fact that there were just so many fond memories made the first time I was there. From all food adventures and starting a shared food IG account (which really needs to be updated since it be lacking food posts lately…), to the super fun (but often painful) attempts at learning how to downhill ski, cross-country ski, and skate, and everything else in-between, it was the definitive highlight of 2022 for me. While it was an eventual goal of mine to one-day come back, career goals and aspirations took precedence over planning a trip to Alberta. Since starting a Master of Financial Economics at the University of Western Ontario in the Fall of 2022, it has been a constant grind of studying, completing assignments, writing exams, preparing job application documents, applying for (co-op) jobs, networking, preparing for interviews… all for the hard work and preparation to end with a ‘thank you for your interest in this role, but we have moved on with other candidates… don’t forget to fill out this survey about your application experience!”. As futile as it felt to painstakingly rinse and repeat the job application process, only to have 9 out of 10 of your applications get rejected, there will always be an opportunity out there. Even if it may be 1 interview out of 99 rejection letters, that 1 chance can be the golden ticket for you to achieve great things… so take the opportunities you get and prepare for them as if its your last.

Aside: Although this blog post was not meant to be some sort of inspirational TED Talk, may this small little tangent be a light of inspiration for those who are dealing with similar circumstances. Please remember to never give up and keep giving it your all! Your hard work and dedication will be rewarded 😊

The ‘one’ opportunity I had led me to a summer internship at a company based in Edmonton. Killing two birds with one stone, not only was this an opportunity to build my career, but it also gave me the opportunity to visit Alberta… this time, in the Summer. And so, this began my 4-week Alberta Adventure: Summer 2023 Edition.

Week 1: Calgary Stampede

The first week in Alberta started with a visit to Calgary to experience the Calgary Stampede. It definitely felt like a bigger, better, more extravagant version of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). The shows were quite nice to watch (such as the motorcross, dogs how, and miniature horse show) but I suppose the most interesting thing was seeing an EDM concert in the evening. I guess I can check-off seeing a bunch of attendees wearing cowboy/cowgirl attire vibing to techno music from my bucket list.

Week 2: Banff

One thing to note whenever you plan to visit Banff National Park is to plan ahead, especially during peak times when kids are out of school or when families are booking their vacations. Case in point? Not having the foresight to book the reservations needed to visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake… since personal vehicles are no longer allowed to visit Moraine Lake and parking is now super limited at Lake Louise (to preserve and protect the surrounding wildlife). Major major major shoutout to Jenny and Stephen (who will be mentioned a lot in this blog because they are the most amazing people ever) for dealing with my shenanigans and be willing to wake up at 3am to drive all the way from Calgary to Lake Louise so that I can at least see Lake Louise. You guys are truly the best <3

Day 1 was spent in Banff Town (or the Town of Banff), since we could not go to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake (since a reservation was needed and everything was already fully booked the day-of when checking for availability while trying to get into the national park). Nonetheless, it was still a fun experience to hike around Bow Falls, bask in the surroundings of Tunnel and Sulphur Mountain, and feeling like a tourist by buying good deals at the now-liquidated Hudson’s Bay in the town. The highlight of the day had to be relaxing in the Banff Upper Hot Springs after a day of hiking… Nothing feels better than relaxing in a natural hot spring after a tiring day. Definitely wished I could have experienced the hot spring in the Winter, but I guess all the more reason to come back again in the Winter!

Day 2 was action-packed, starting at 3am with the hopes of getting one of the limited parking spots at Lake Louise. Despite arriving as early as 6am, we probably nabbed the 3rd or 4th available spot… so, if you ever decide to drive to Lake Louise, go early! (otherwise, you might be waiting a while for people to leave) Our efforts to beat the crowd was rewarded with a stunning view of Lake Louise during sunrise.

In an attempt to find better views (and to enjoy the area while we were there), we decided to embark on a hike that was supposed to be somewhat quick, not too difficult, and would end with nice scenery to take pictures of. Instead, my small brain decided to take the trail that said “Louise” not knowing that it went the OPPOSITE DIRECTION of where Lake Louise was.

A 3-hour, 6km hike in the wet marshes without hiking boots later… we were back to where we parked the car filled with as much regret as the amount of water that seeped through our shoes. Despite this blunder, we still ended up hiking the short but nice Fairview Lookout trail, where it gave a beautiful view of Lake Louise and the historic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

Overall, ‘twas fun and rewarding visit to Banff National Park. Though the absence of snow may take away from the magical atmosphere of the Canadian Rockies, experiencing Banff in the Summer has its own unique charms filled with gorgeous sunsets and a plethora of fun and rewarding hikes.

Week 3: Chasing Summer

When Jenny had asked me a few months before my Alberta trip, whether I was interested in going to Chasing Summer, I didn’t even hesitate in my response. I simply said “Sure, I’m down” without even realizing what I was actually signing up for. Only after I got confirmation that tickets were bought and plans were being made, did I realize that I agreed to going to a 2-day EDM festival. Had I ever gone to rave before? Nope. Was I nervous about the experience? Not going to lie, yeah, I was a bit anxious. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. Would I do it all over again? Definitely.

Before the weekend of Chasing Summer, the rave crew got together to make kandi. Honestly, it was a fun night of making really unique and well-designed bracelets while also having the chance to get to know the people I would be raving with in a few days time. I really should’ve made more generic bracelets to actually give out since I swear, I put too much thought and effort that I felt obliged to keep most of the ones I made… the ‘SOJU’ one especially.

At this point, I was still a little nervous leading up to the weekend of the rave, but at least I knew who I would be going with… and knowing that they’re super chill and quite fun to be around, I felt quite at ease.

No blog is complete without some food pics. Here are some pictures of sushi taken from Ari Sushi the evening before the festival:

Day 1 of the festival arrives, and we all made our preparations. The theme of the day? Neon and black. After an hour or two of pre-drinking baijiu and vodka, we were ready to attend the festival.

The lineup for Day 1 included the likes of ARMNHMR, Gryffin, James Hype and Tiësto (the headliner). From when the sun was up to when it set, the atmosphere was electric. It really felt like how I imagined an EDM festival would be: people screaming, dancing, vibing to each and ever single beat and bass drop. The pre-drinking really did help as I don’t know if I would’ve felt the same vibes if I didn’t feel some sort of buzz. It definitely helped that we somehow ended up near the stage which made it all the more intense to be vibing while being blasted by the music in full force. I feel like the amount of cardio I achieved from one day of raving was equivalent to the amount I would normally get in a week… just pure jumping and dancing in sea of ravers who were looking for a good time. With the completion of Chasing Summer Day 1, I felt thrilled to do it all-over again the second day.

The theme for day 2 was Pastel and White. Compared to Day 1, I turned up my drinking game (since I opted out of doing weed or molly). In a 7-hour span, I left no opportunity to sober up as every chance I got, I chugged soju, Smirnoff Ice, or vodka, as if I was drinking water. It was probably smart not to chug the Baijiu since that thing burns you like any hard liquor would.

The second day was definitely a bigger blur for me given how particularly drunk and tipsy I was the entire time. Nonetheless, I know for sure that the vibes were at an all-time high with nobody slowing down even after an intense day 1. I probably can’t describe in words how amazing the experience was, but luckily the photos that were taken will hopefully suffice. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

To cap off a weekend of raving, we visited an alpaca farm before heading home!

What made this experience so incredibly memorable were the people I had the privilege of going with. To Jeremy, Amy, Josh, Jasmine, Johhny, Jenny, and Chuulie, thank you all for making my first-ever rave experience one that I’ll never forget. Feeding off all your energy and vibes, I had the time of my life dancing, screaming, and shouting to the electric lineup of ARMNHMR, Gryffin, Tiësto, and Zedd. Thank you for also being so kind and super fun. I know that I was simply a guy from Ontario who was ‘just visiting’ but you all made me feel included and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I hope that one day we can reunite, and you would allow me to join you guys again to dance and scream the night away at another rave/EDM festival. Miss you all <3

Week 4: Drumheller

The final week of my Alberta Adventures took me to Drumheller, the Dinosaur Capital of the World! Visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Hoodoos, it was stunning to see how pretty the landscape was despite being considered an area where things scarcely grow.

As 2023 comes to a close and I reflect on the many great memories made this year (particularly during my trip to Alberta), I want to thank all the great friends that I was able to spend time with. To LJ, thank you for many sports talks and the one time we were able to play tennis… in the rain. To Jeremy and Amy, it was super nice to see you two again and thank you oh so much for the many fun memories! From being able to help out for the Delish Cup, to making kandi, to Chasing Summer and of course, the weeks of playing ultimate frisbee, a huge part of why my Alberta trip was amazing was because of you two! To Josh and Jasmine, thank you for being such kind-hearted souls and super fun people to be around! Playing ultimate frisbee and going to Chasing Summer will always be something I’ll cherish! To Johhny, thank you for your loveable energy and vibes and for making my first-ever rave experience one I’ll never forget (also thank you for keeping me alive when I was drunk out of my mind). Last but not least, to Jenny and Stephen, thank you so much for your amazing hospitality and the many great adventures we went on while I was in Alberta. Through all the good and sometimes not-so-good times, thank you for being such amazing amazing people. I hope to visit your new house one day!

With that, looking forward to what adventures await in 2024!

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lazarex-blog · 1 year

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Two #great 👍🏾 days by #simple things like the #Royal #AlbertA #Museum and #kind #gestures from #strangers turning into #friends❣️ (at Edmonton, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClVRn8YLXMG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#great #simple #royal #alberta #museum #kind #gestures #strangers #friends❣️

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dinodorks · 7 months

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[ The skull is mounted on a custom steel armature, which allows for it to be seen all the way around. ]

"After seven years of work, the best preserved and most complete triceratops skull coming from Canada — also known as the "Calli" specimen — is on display for the first time since being found in 2014 at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. A museum news release calls the specimen "unique" because of where it was discovered, the age of the rock around it, and how well it was preserved. Following the floods that tore through Alberta about 10 years ago, the Royal Tyrrell staff were engaged in flood mitigation paleontology work when the triceratops skull was discovered in 2014. Triceratops fossils are rare in Canada. This skull was found in the foothills of southwestern Alberta — an area where dinosaur fossils in general are uncommon — and nicknamed "Calli" after Callum Creek, the stream where it was discovered. Transported via helicopter in giant, heavy chunks, the skull and most of the jaw pieces were extracted over the course of a month in 2015. The rest of the triceratops' skeleton was not found. Roaming the earth roughly 68 to 69 million years ago, the museum says this skull was buried in stages, evident by the fossilization process. "Paleontologists know this because the specimen was found in different rock layers, and the poorly preserved horn tips suggest they were exposed to additional weathering and erosion," reads a museum blog about the triceratops skull. "The rest of the skeleton likely washed away," noting that the lower jaws were found downstream. From 2016 to 2023, Royal Tyrrell technician Ian Macdonald spent over 6,500 hours preparing this fossil, removing over 815 kilograms of rock that encased the skull. This triceratops skull is the largest skull ever prepared at the museum and its third largest on display."

Read more: "Canada's biggest and best triceratops skull on display in Alberta" by Lily Dupuis.

#palaeoblr #Palaeontology #Paleontology #Dinosaur #Triceratops #Fossil #Cretaceous #Mesozoic #Ceratopsian #Extinct #Prehistoric #Photo #Article #Information #Museum #Royal Tyrrell Museum

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mediasaurs · 7 months

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T. rex Madness Final! Fossil Specimen (Black Beauty: RTMP 81.6.1) vs. Fossil Specimen (Sue FMNH PR 2081)

Fossil Specimen (Black Beauty: RTMP 81.6.1) – Black Beauty, discovered in 1980, is distinguished both by its striking appearance and by being the first T. rex specimen to receive a nickname. It is on display at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Alberta, Canada and has replica casts around the world.

Fossil Specimen (Sue FMNH PR 2081) – Arguably the most famous of all T. rex specimens. Discovered in 1990 through impressive luck and observation by the fossil’s namesake, Sue Hendrickson, Sue is also one of the best T. rex fossils, being 90% complete by bulk. Following a lengthy dispute over ownership, Sue was put up for auction, inciting fears that the fossil would end up in a private collection. With the help of various donors, Sue was purchased by the Field Museum in Chicago, and has been a fixture there ever since. Sue’s bones show signs of various injuries, including a parasitic infection in the skull. In 2018, Sue was moved to a new room at the Field Museum, featuring an updated assembly and an informational exhibit featuring the world in which Sue lived.

#t. rex madness #t. rex #tyrannosaurus #tyrannosaurus rex #dinosaur #dinosaurs #fossil #sue the t. rex #black beauty the t. rex

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covenawhite66 · 1 year

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An incredibly rare discovery: a complete hadrosaur skeleton.

The fossil is of the large, plant-eating, duck-billed species was found sticking out of a hillside at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.

At the moment, all that’s visible of the fossil is a portion of the dinosaur’s tail and right hind leg, but researchers Brian Pickles of the University of Reading and Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum explained that the way in which the fossil is arranged suggests the skeleton is in a sitting position — and may be fully preserved within the hill.

According to Brown, roughly 400 to 500 dinosaur bones have been excavated from the area — but finding any fossils with skin is quite rare. Even rarer is finding a dinosaur preserved in the same position as they were in life.

#dinosaur #paleontology #discovery #science #biology #fossil #canada

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handweavers · 18 days

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re: prev post of a moosehair tufting and porcupine quill piece, here is a video on indigenous moosehair tufting from the royal alberta museum. the narrator talks about her grandmother who was a prominent moosehair tufting artist in the early 1900s and shows her technique

#video

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ancientorigins · 1 year

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The Dinosaur Mummy The recent discovery of a dinosaur mummy has left archaeologists baffled. This dinosaur mummy is one of the best preserved ever found. This is evident from the appearance of the mummy, which still has intact skin and a hard shell. The fossil, which was found purely by chance while miners were drilling in Canada, is thought to be more than 110 million years old. The mummy was placed in the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada. After careful examination, it was discovered that the animal's skin also protected its intact intestines.

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blueiskewl · 5 months

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First tyrannosaur fossil discovered with its last meal perfectly preserved in its stomach

Researchers have found a tyrannosaur’s last meal perfectly preserved inside its stomach cavity.

What was on the menu 75 million years ago? The hind legs of two baby dinosaurs, according to new research on the fossil published Friday in the journal Science Advances.

Dinosaur guts and hard evidence of their diets are rarely preserved in the fossil record, and it is the first time the stomach contents of a tyrannosaur have been uncovered.

The revelation makes this discovery particularly exciting, said co-lead author Darla Zelenitsky, a paleontologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta.

“Tyrannosaurs are these large predatory species that roamed Alberta, and North America, during the late Cretaceous. These were the iconic apex or top predators that we’ve all seen in movies, books and museums. They walked on two legs (and) had very short arms,” Zelenitsky said.

“It was a cousin of T. rex, which came later in time, 68 to 66 million years ago. T. rex is the biggest of the tyrannosaurs, Gorgosaurus was a little bit smaller, maybe full grown would have been 9, 10 meters (33 feet).”

The tyrannosaur in question, a young Gorgosaurus libratus, would have weighed about 772 pounds (350 kilograms) — less than a horse — and reached 13 feet (4 meters) in length at the time of death.

The creature was between the ages of 5 and 7 and appeared to be picky in what it consumed, Zelenitsky said.

“Its last and second-to-last meal were these little birdlike dinosaurs, Citipes, and the tyrannosaur actually only ate the hind limbs of each of these prey items. There’s really no other skeletal remains of these predators within the stomach cavity. It’s just the hind legs.

“It must have killed … both of these Citipes at different times and then ripped off the hind legs and ate those and left the rest of the carcasses,” she added. “Obviously this teenager had an appetite for drumsticks.”

The two baby dinosaurs both belonged to the species called Citipes elegans and would have been younger than 1 year old when the tyrannosaur hunted them down, the researchers determined.

The almost complete skeleton was found in Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park in 2009.

That the tyrannosaur’s stomach contents were preserved wasn’t immediately obvious, but staff at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, noticed small protruding bones when preparing the fossil in the lab and removed a rock within its rib cage to take a closer look.

“Lo and behold, the complete hind legs of two baby dinosaurs, both under a year old, were present in its stomach,” said co-lead author François Therrien, the museum’s curator of dinosaur paleoecology, in a statement.

The paleontologists were able to determine the ages of both the predator and its prey by analyzing thin slices sampled from the fossilized bones.

“There’s growth marks like the rings of a tree. And we can essentially tell how old a dinosaur is from looking at those, the structure of the bone,” Zelenitsky said.

Changing appetites of top predators

The fossil is the first hard evidence of a long-suspected dietary pattern among large predatory dinosaurs, said paleoecologist Kat Schroeder, a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University’s department of Earth and planetary science, who wasn’t involved in the research.

The teen tyrannosaur didn’t eat what its parents did. Paleontologists believe its diet would have changed over its life span.

“Large, robust tyrannosaurs like T. rex have bite forces strong enough to hit bone when eating, and so we know they bit into megaherbivores like Triceratops,” Schroeder said via email. “Juvenile tyrannosaurs can’t bite as deep, and therefore don’t leave such feeding traces.”

She said that scientists have previously hypothesized that young tyrannosaurs had different diets from fully developed adults, but the fossil find marks the first time researchers have direct evidence.

“Combined with the relative rarity of juvenile tyrannosaur skeletons, this fossil is very significant,” Schroeder added. “Teeth can only tell us so much about the diet of extinct animals, so finding stomach contents is like picking up the proverbial ‘smoking gun.’”

The contents of the tyrannosaur’s stomach cavity revealed that at this stage in life, juveniles were hunting swift, small prey. It was likely because the predator’s body wasn’t yet well-suited for bigger prey, Zelenitsky said.

“It’s well known that tyrannosaurs changed a lot during growth, from slender forms to these robust, bone-crushing dinosaurs, and we know that this change was related to feeding behavior.”

When the dinosaur died, its mass was only 10% of that of an adult Gorgosaurus, she said.

How juvenile tyrannosaurs filled a niche

The voracious appetite of teenage tyrannosaurs and other carnivores has been thought to explain a puzzling feature of dinosaur diversity.

There are relatively few small and midsize dinosaurs in the fossil record, particularly in the Mid- to Late Cretaceous Period — something paleontologists have determined is due to the hunting activities of young tyrannosaurs.

“In Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park, where this specimen is from, we have a very well sampled formation. And so we have a pretty good idea of the ecosystem there. Over 50 species of dinosaurs,” Zelenitsky said.

“We are missing mid-sized … predators from that ecosystem. So yeah, there’s been the hypothesis that, the juvenile tyrannosaurs filled that niche.”

By Katie Hunt.

#First tyrannosaur fossil discovered with its last meal perfectly preserved in its stomach #tyrannosaur #Gorgosaurus libratus #Citipes #Citipes elegans #dinosaurs #paleontologist #Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park #archeology #archeolgst #history #history news #ancient history

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a-dinosaur-a-day · 10 months

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Thanks to @plokool and @killdeercheer for helping me put this together in a way that wasn't too usa or europe biased ^_^

#fossil museums #paleontology #fossils #prehistoric life #museums #poll #palaeoblr

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historysideblog · 1 year

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Online History Short-Courses offered by Universities Masterpost

Categories: Classical Studies, Egyptology, Medieval, Renaissance, The Americas, Asia, Other, Linguistics, Archaeology

How to get Coursera courses for free: There are several types of courses on Coursera, some will allow you to study the full course and only charge for the optional-certificate, for others you will need to audit it and you may have limited access (usually just to assignments), and thirdly some courses charge a monthly subscription in this case a 7 day free trial is available.

Classical Studies 🏛️🏺

At the Origins of the Mediterranean Civilization: Archeology of the City from the Levant to the West 3rd-1st millennium BC - Sapienza University of Rome

Greek and Roman Mythology - University of Pennsylvania

Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World - Open University

Roman Architecture - Yale

Roman Art and Archeology - University of Arizona

Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City - University of Reading

The Ancient Greeks - Wesleyan University

The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archeology and History of Palatine Hill - Sapienza University of Rome

Uncovering Roman Britain in Old Museum Collections - University of Reading

Egyptology 𓂀⚱️

Egypt before and after pharaohs - Sapienza University of Rome

Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization - University of Pennsylvania

Wonders of Ancient Egypt - University of Pennsylvania

Medieval 🗡️🏰

Age of Cathedrals - Yale

Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims - University of Colorado

Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe - University of Colorado

Enlightening the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Archaeology in Italy - University of Padova

Lancaster Castle and Northern English History: The View from the Stronghold - Lancaster University

Magic in the Middle Ages - University of Barcelona

Old Norse Mythology in the Sources - University of Colorado Bolder

Preserving Norwegian Stave Churches - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece - Trinity College Dublin

The Cosmopolitan Medival Arabic World - University of Leiden

Renaissance ⚜️🃏

Black Tudors: The Untold Story

European Empires: An Introduction, 1400–1522 - University of Newcastle

The Mediterranean, a Space of Exchange (from Renaissance to Enlightenment) - University of Barcelona

The Life and Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots - University of Glasgow

The Tudors - University of Roehampton London

The Americas 🪶🦙🛖

History of Slavery in the British Caribbean - University of Glasgow

Indigeneity as a Global Concept - University of Newcastle

Indigenous Canada - University of Alberta

Indigenous Religions & Ecology - Yale

Asia 🏯🛕

Contemporary India - University of Melbourne

Introduction to Korean Philosophy - Sung Kyun Kwan University

Japanese Culture Through Rare Books - University of Keio

Sino-Japanese Interactions Through Rare Books - University of Keio

The History and Culture of Chinese Silk - University for the Creative Arts

Travelling Books: History in Europe and Japan - University of Keio

Other

A Global History of Sex and Gender: Bodies and Power in the Modern World - University of Glasgow

A History of Royal Fashion - University of Glasgow

Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-78 - University of Reading

Biodiversity, Guardianship, and the Natural History of New Zealand: A Museum Perspective - Te Papa

Empire: the Controversies of British Imperialism - University of Exeter

Great South Land: Introducing Australian History - University of Newcastle

Indigeneity as a Global Concept - University of Newcastle

New Zealand History, Culture and Conflict: A Museum Perspective - Te Papa

Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way - LMU Munich

Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction - University of Virginia

Russian History: from Lenin to Putin - University of California Santa Cruz

Linguistics 🗣️

Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics - University of Leiden - Coursera version

Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics - University of Leiden

Archeology 💀

Archeoastronomy - University of Milan

Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650 - Durham University

Archaeology: from Dig to Lab and Beyond - University of Reading

Archeology: Recovering the Humankind's Past and Saving the Universal Heritage - Sapienza University of Rome

Change of Era: The Origins of Christian Culture through the Lens of Archaeology - University of Padova

Endangered Archaeology: Using Remote Sensing to Protect Cultural Heritage - Universities of Durham, Leicester & Oxford

Enlightening the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Archaeology in Italy - University of Padova

Exploring Stone Age Archaeology: The Mysteries of Star Carr - University of York

Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology - Durham University

Roman Art and Archeology - University of Arizona

The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archeology and History of Palatine Hill - Sapienza University of Rome

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theromaboo · 4 months

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@just-late-roman-republic-things seems to be plowing through Suetonius Augustus and I am here for it!

Your mention of the dinosaur bones that Augustus used as home decoration reminds me of a story about Tiberius! (I swear, everything recently has been reminding me about Tiberius!)

By the way, finding the ancient source for this story was shit! I remembered reading this like a year ago, and I had forgotten which ancient source this was from. Using my critical thinking skills ("hmmm tiberius hmmmm dinosaur"), I assumed that this story came from Pliny's Natural History.

It did not.

I was searching through the Natural History for so long that I was starting to wonder if I had made the story up!

After searching through the Natural History for ages, I finally used more critical thinking skill and was like "Hmmm. Maybe if I google this, I could find an article about the event and maybe possibly it would cite a specific part of the Natural History!"

I googled it, found an article about the event, and it cited Phlegon's Book of Marvels.

Whoopsie! I was looking through the wrong book this whole time! In my defense, Pliny and Phlegon actually are pretty similar names if you squint sooo...

(it was however worth it to look through the Natural History because I found the funniest story about Tiberius ever but that's a story for another day)

Now that I have the ancient source of this story, I can finally tell it!

Basically, there was an earthquake which opened up all sorts of cracks on the ground. And in those cracks, there were dinosaur bones!

The people were pretty spooked so they took a tooth and sent it to Rome. And this was a massive tooth.

The tooth was showed to Tiberius and he was asked if he wanted the rest of the bones. He was like "Well, I'm really curious about this thing, and I'm aching to get an idea of what size it was, but it feels like graverobbing to take the rest of the bones."

So Tiberius got some dude called Pulcher who was skilled in geometry. Tiberius asked him to make a face in proportion to the tooth. The dude estimated the size of the creature using its tooth as a reference and then showed Tiberius a construction of it he had made. Tiberius said that looking at the construction was good enough and sent the tooth back where it came from.

Tiberius and (especially) Pulcher, the world's first paleontologists!

I love this story. It's wild. Though I do wonder what happened to the construction. Did Tiberius keep it?

If Tiberius randomly showed up at my door one day, I'd bring him to Drumheller to go to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Alberta is one of the most boring places in the world but we do have a banging dinosaur museum!

On the hours-long drive there, I will most certainly give him like a billion questions, though. "How was Caligula like? How was Augustus like? How were you like? How was Livia like? How was Sejanus like? Actually, scratch this. Name every single person you know and tell me how they were like and how they looked like. What did you do in Capri? Explain your entire life from beginning to end, giving extra attention to the personal parts! I don't want to hear about wars I want to hear about what people were like! Could you read Suetonius to me and point out parts where he's wrong? Could we watch Domina together and you can tell me if you like your characterization or not?"

For everyone's sake, it's good that dead Roman emperors usually don't randomly show up sometimes (not counting whatever the fuck was happening right after Nero died!)

If you want to read the Tiberius Tooth sTory (haha Triple T) for yourself, you can here. Look for §13.

#ancient rome #roman history #ancient history #history #tiberius #emperor tiberius #dinosaur #dinosaurs #phlegon #phlegon book of marvels #pliny the elder #paleontology

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