Sigh

[larrys@zk3.dec.com]

I happened to be browsing through a toy store the other
day and spotted a big of plastic dinosaurs.  I recalled
my own childhood collection - now hopelessly out of date,
of course, tail-draggers every one - and decided to check
'em out.  Same ones.  I mean, really the _same_ dinosaurs,
same molds and everything, dedicated tail-draggers.  Tail-
dragging 'rex, tail dragging stegosaur, tail dragging
trachodon - not an edmontosaurus, a trachodon.  A Mastodon.
A Mastodon?  In a _dinosaur_ package?  I could forgive them
if it was "Prehistoric Animals" or something, but not "dino-
saurs".  The old pteranodon in its bat pose.  _None_ of
them were right.  But the ultimate insult, lurking deep in
the bottom of this bag clearly marked "dinosaurs", was the
dopy-looking glyptodon - I _thought_ it was a glyptodon,
until I got a close look at it and spotted the antenna and
little propellor-beanie tail...a rust monster.  A D&D _rust_
_monster_, forsooth, hanging out with a bunch of obsolete
reconstructions of actual creatures. I thought I was going
to ralph, I really did.

So I started looking for some modern reconstructions - there
are a few.  A couple under the Jurassic Park logo, a few from
Edmund Scientific that were done by a couple reputable museums
and _very_ expensive (more per piece than the whole _bag_ of
old dinosaurs).  Other than that, zip.

I understand the overpowering economic impetus to keep those
old amortized dies a-working, I really do, and if they were
accompanied with a little fact book marking them as obsolete
reconstructions, and mixed in with more modern ones, at least
it could be defended as historical, but to bulk the stupid
thing up with _fantasy_ monsters is unconscionable.  It really
really bothered me to see that.

I'd like to see some reputable paleontologists take issue with
the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of these toys.
Maybe issue pins with a little rust monster silouette with a
red circle-and-slash that we could wear.  Just do _something_ to
raise the visibility of these things.  I mean, they _are_ just
toys, but those same toys taught _me_ all those dinosaurs names
my parents couldn't pronounce, and they'll do the same for an-
other generation of kids - with obsolete names and poses.  The
"bronto"saurus will never die so long as every new generation of
kids learns about it with this little tail-dragging representation.

regards,
Larry Smith