One of the questions for the ages: ANSWERED!

[chiasaur11]

For decades, small children have loved dinosaurs. Okay, and bigger children.

And ostensible adults.

We all devoured books and magazines, took the tiniest hints and expanded on the ad infinitum.

The mysteries were part of the appeal. What colors dinosaurs were? No one knew. You couldn't color them wrong, just different.

Today, in honor of that happy memory, go up to a child drawing a dinosaur. Ask him why he picked that color. Smile in bemusement.


And then tell him he's DUMB and WRONG because science has an answer, and that answer is ORANGE (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaur-feathers-colors-nature/)!

So, we know what color (one species of) dinosaurs were. Discuss.

[Starscream]

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:c4Pgyf2ZnEXzlM:http://www.gunaxin.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cheesasaurus2_thumbsup.jpg

If they find one that's purple, I'll burn my Michael Crichton books.:smallwink:

[chiasaur11]

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:c4Pgyf2ZnEXzlM:http://www.gunaxin.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cheesasaurus2_thumbsup.jpg

If they find one that's purple, I'll burn my Michael Crichton books.:smallwink:

Less Cheesasaurus, more Creamsicle.

[The Extinguisher]

I routinely yell at kids because their dinosaurs don't have feathers. Science is not determined by imagination! :smallbiggrin:

[Dr.Epic]

Then explain Barney and his purple behind.

[reorith]

If they find one that's purple, I'll burn my Michael Crichton books.:smallwink:

why wait? chichton was a hack and a troll extraordinaire.

[golentan]

Actually, as I am given to understand, the test employed only goes so far as to show "Color" and "No color." While the researchers were able to identify definite pigmentation (and the pattern thereof), the molecules involved could be the result of the long term degradation of the existing pigment molecules due to the chemical composition of the surrounding area. While the presence of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin (common pigments in modern birds) indicates a high degree of confidence that there was black and yellow/reddish pigment, that does not indicate that this coloration was the sole component in the dinosaur in question's coloration. Urochrome, Polyene Enolates, and assorted other classes of pigmentation may not have survived and would have had a drastic effect on the appearance of the organism.

/nitpick

[Serpentine]

I got told off in grade 5 or 6 for colouring a dinosaur bright green and some other colour v.v

[Kneenibble]

Wait wait wait, never mind about colour -- you're telling me dinosaurs were fuzzy?

Can I pet one?

[Ninja Chocobo]

And then tell him he's DUMB and WRONG because science has an answer, and that answer is ORANGE (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaur-feathers-colors-nature/)!

So, we know what color (one species of) dinosaurs were. Discuss.

I got told off in grade 5 or 6 for colouring a dinosaur bright green and some other colour v.v

I think at this point a reference to Dinosaur Comics (http://www.qwantz.com/index.php) is pretty much necessary at this point.

[SurlySeraph]

Wait wait wait, never mind about colour -- you're telling me dinosaurs were fuzzy?

Can I pet one?

Yes. Yes, you can. They're just like larger, slightly less graceful birds, except with more teeth.

Wait, you're not going to need that hand for anything else, are you?

[bosssmiley]

Dinosaurs were ginger? They deserved that asteroid to the face.

[arguskos]

Dinosaurs were ginger? They deserved that asteroid to the face.
Not a ginger man I see. Also, no one deserves an asteroid to the face. No, not even him.

[golentan]

Not a ginger man I see. Also, no one deserves an asteroid to the face. No, not even him.

She did. And I have no regrets about obliging her with what she deserved.

[Telonius]

If the dinosaur was kind of little, I wonder if the plant life was orange too. A small orange dino would kind of stick out if all the leaves around it were green.

[Gamerlord]

Then explain Barney and his purple behind.

Easy target practice.

*Snipes barney from 1000 miles with a stupid-seeking missle launcher*

*Mounts his head on a wall and eats his insides*

[golentan]

If the dinosaur was kind of little, I wonder if the plant life was orange too. A small orange dino would kind of stick out if all the leaves around it were green.

Not necessarily. Have you ever seen a tiger in the wild? No? There's a reason. :smallamused:

It's a lot more about breaking up your outline than it is about the coloration. And, as mentioned, it's not conclusive they were orange, only that orange and black pigments were in the mix.

[Serpentine]

If the dinosaur was kind of little, I wonder if the plant life was orange too. A small orange dino would kind of stick out if all the leaves around it were green.Not necessarily. Look at fish: A parrot fish should be snapped up in no time, right? In fact, for some reason predator fish see in a different colour spectrum to prey fish. So the prey fish use colours outside that other spectrum to communicate to each other.

[Felixaar]

why wait? chichton was a hack and a troll extraordinaire.

Careful, pal, or I'll feed you to oversized chameleons :smallannoyed: :smalltongue:

[Reinholdt]

I wrote an entire story in elementary school about how dinosaurs were pink.

It won second place in some sort of county fictional literature contest.

I got thrown out of the ceremony for insisting it was true.
All but the last statement is true.

[KerfuffleMach2]

If the dinosaur was kind of little, I wonder if the plant life was orange too. A small orange dino would kind of stick out if all the leaves around it were green.

That's assuming it lived in a tropical area or something.

What if it lived in grasslands? Maybe plains?