Have any vegetarian/vegan friends? Show them this timely clipping from the current New Scientist ( http://www.newscientist.com/nlc/0812/feedback.html )

DINOSAURS were not wiped out by a meteorite or a planetary catastrophe but by a serious flatulence problem, according to a Chinese news report. The report, cited last week by BBC News Online, comes from the China Youth Daily. In 1991 Associated Press attributed the idea to geochemist Simon Brassell; this time it's an unnamed French scientist.

The problem was apparently the amount of methane expelled by the dinosaurs-- enough to blast a hole in the ozone layer. This in turn damaged terrestrial vegetation and caused a food shortage which ended the dinosaurs' reign.

"The animals, weighing from 80 to 100 tonnes, would eat on average between 130 and 260 kilos of food every day. They would fart non- stop," the Chinese paper tells its surprised readers.

-- Banned Person (NonPerson@EZbanned.edu), August 14, 2000

Answers

another true story--from la la land!

-- bend-over (dogs@zianet.com), August 15, 2000.

Yep, in addition to the cars, now we have Taco Bell. We're really in trouble!

-- (human.farts@worse.than.dinosaurs), August 15, 2000.

HUMAN-FARTS-CAUSE-CONFUSION-&-MEMORY-LOSS. please--open--the--window!!!!

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), August 15, 2000.

Well, that partially explains your condition, Al.

-- -@ (question@everything.xxx), August 15, 2000.

@[question] your a gassy anon>XXXXXXX MARKS THE SPOT

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), August 15, 2000.

Link does not work.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), August 15, 2000.

Lars, try this one.

Frankly, I don't buy this story for a minute. The article seems to be saying that the dinosaurs basically starved to death, but evidence uncovered over the years supports more of an almost instant "wipe-out" theory. And yes, if one goes with the "wipe-out" theory, one has to accept that some of them did starve; not having been killed in the original catastrophe.

Then again, I suppose the old adage, "you are what you eat" rings true.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), August 16, 2000.

you silly darlings. a theory, scientifically is an expiriment or guess that has been tested dozens and dozens of times and never proven to be false. a theory (in the scientific and mathamatical world) is usually true. dinosaurs were indeed wiped of the earth by one big blast. scientists found shocked quartz (usually happens in nuclear blasts) layers of clay that all of a sudden showed no fossils of plants, it did not gradually rid itself of plants, but the earth rather lost them all at once. thankyou love, meg

-- the "megster" (meg_pie@yahoo.com), January 13, 2003.