Re: When did "T. rex" come into usage?

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Amado Narvaez wrote:
> 
> To divert for a moment from the "raptor" discussion, I was curious about
> when the short form "T. rex" came into popular usage. I would imagine
> prior to Jurassic Park. I take it this is legitimate scientific shorthand
> (like _E. coli_) that insinuated its way into popular usage, perhaps first
> through Jack Horner's book. I remember when I first encountered it, I
> didn't like it. The name "Tyrannosaurus" has a menacing sound and
> appearance. "T. rex" just didn't do it. Lends a feeling of "familiarity"
> to a creature that one doesn't really want to get that close to. Kind of
> like calling Dracula "Count D." (Maybe it's popularity started with the
> Nova program "T. rex Exposed"?) I can understand why the press uses "E.
> coli". _Eschericia coli_ is a very unfamiliar term. Maybe since the
> villain itself is small but deadly, the small but deadly popular name is
> appropriate.
> 
> I've gotten used to "T. rex," but still prefer to spell it out.
> ----- Amado Narvaez

There was a band called T.rex (the early 1980s I think), but I suspect
the term used in popular culture goes further back than that.

In a completely unrelated vein (groan), Count Dracula actually signs
his name simply as "D" in a letter to Harker in the original book.
-- 
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        Dann Pigdon
        Melbourne, Australia
        http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/4459/

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