The Minds Behind Jurassic World: pt. 1 Simon Masrani

Simon Masrani, head of Masrani Global Corporations, spearheaded the movement to create Isla Nublar's Jurassic World.

Disclaimer: We at Smiley's News claim no ownership to anything regarding Jurassic Park or Jurassic World.

Jurassic Park was, according to its founder, the late John Parker Hammond, to be “so astounding that it would capture the imagination of the entire planet”. Like Hammond himself, the park he planned to create was outsized, bold and impractical – the first theme park in the world to possess living, breathing dinosaurs for the world to see. Featuring 15 species of dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles during their Phase A, the park's construction began on Isla Nublar and was nearly complete in 1993. The park was set to open in 1994. But chaos broke loose on June 11, 1993 when the park's computer system (which controlled almost everything in the park) failed and the dinosaurs escaped. Many people lost their lives. The island was left for abandonment. It looked like John Hammond's dream would never see the light of day...until now!

When InGen (Hammond's company) seemed to have insurmountable financial issues starting in 1993 (after the Isla Nublar Incident), you would think that Hammond's park would never come to fruition. It never would have if it weren't for the help of Masrani Global Corporation. MGC bought InGen and successfully restored it to the level of satisfaction once sought by the former founder. One duty the company's CEO, Simon Masrani, knew had to be fulfilled was the completion of Hammond's dream which comes alive as we speak!

For more details, Simon Masrani was kind enough to spare some time with my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater, and I at Smiley's Newspaper headquarters. I felt honored to be speaking to such an important man. Below is my interview with Mr. Masrani.

Me: So how was Masrani Global Corporation founded and how did you become its CEO?

Masrani: Well, it was my father, Sanjay Masrani, who founded Masrani Global Corporation on February 16, 1973. The company first started out with only one division called Mascom, an ambitious telecommunications network located in the heart of India, my home country. For ten years, by father oversaw Mascom perfect its technology until it became a very popular company that had positive effects around the world. Then my father passed the business down to me.

Me: That's cool. So what does MGC do now? Obviously you've gone far beyond Mascom.

Masrani, laughing: That's an understatement, Mr. Smiley. We've expanded the company to include many different divisions around the entire world. One of our largest divisions was called Masrani Oil. Masrani Oil was responsible for putting MGC on world business radar.

Me: It “was called Masrani Oil”?

Masrani: Yes, that was the name the company started out with, because that is what that division centralized on. But Masrani Global Corporation is all about new research and innovation. That division is now called “Masrani Energy”, as of earlier this year, and is shifting its focus from oil – a fossil fuel destined to run out with time – and toward the use of cleaner energy resources, like wind, solar and hydroelectric energy.

Masrani: Now I regress. Today, the Masrani Global Corporation has holdings in both the commercial and industrial sectors, ranging from energy and telecom – as I just explained – mining, construction, engineering, real estate, technology, bioengineering and health care, along with many others. Masrani will continue to expand with time.

Me: That's really awesome. Now what is your company's connection with InGen?

Masrani: For that we have to go back in time a bit. It started in 1998. InGen was failing financially thanks to the Isla Nublar Incident and the San Diego Incident of 1997 when the T. rex escaped confinement and terrorized the city.

Me: I see.

Masrani: I was already associated with InGen to an extent, because my father was close friends with Hammond, and it was 1998 when we officially bought the company, saving it from facing Chapter 11.

Me: Don't you mean extinct?

Masrani:Yes, exactly.

Me: When did you decide to pick up the baton Hammond left behind?

Masrani: Between the years 2002 and 2004, it occurred to us that we should attempt to bring Hammond's dream to life. It was a great fantasy of his and the world deserves this wonderful attraction. So we built the park and after years of planning and construction, we'll be ready to open the park on June 12 of this year.

Me: I'm really excited.

Masrani: I'm glad. I think you'll like it.

Me: So what was it like to oversee the reconstruction of Hammond's theme park?

Masrani: For me, my Senior Assets Manager, Claire Dearing, and my head geneticist Dr. Henry Wu, it was an incredible experience.

Me: Did you ever feel discouraged?

Masrani (is quoted for saying*): Every leader in the history of the planet has had moments of discouragement. When that feeling came across me, I simply kept telling myself that 'the greatest thing we must learn in life is that nothing is impossible. We fear the unknown on a daily basis, but it is that unknown which drives us. Our species, whatever entities we may be, have been given a gift of asking why? We cannot forget that.'

Me: Speaking of Jurassic World, what dinosaur is your favorite?

Masrani: My favorite dinosaur at the park is also one of our newest. Claire Dearing can give you more information than I am permitted to at this time.

Me: That's fine. Alright, I have just a few more questions before we're done. What do you do in your past time and do you have any hidden talents you'd like to share with us?

Masrani: I'm actually fond of cricket. And hidden talents? Well, I like to play the sitar.”

Me: What's a sitar?

Masrani: Simply put, a sitar is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in Indian classical music. It looks kind of like a guitar, if you were to compare it with American instruments.

Me: Well, I've definitely have had fun with this interview, Mr. Masrani. Thanks so much for taking the time.

Masrani: It was my pleasure.

Me: Now, to all my faithful readers, remember that Jurassic World opens on June 12 (with an accompanying movie releasing in theaters the same day). In the meantime, get ready for our following interview next week, when we'll sit and chat with Jurassic World's Senior Assets Manager, Claire Dearing and the park's head geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu!

Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater
Edited by: Christian Ryan

Next Issue: The Minds Behind Jurassic World: pt. 2 Dr. Henry Wu & Claire Dearing

* Had to fit that catchphrase of mine in there somewhere!

Rerun Article: Elizabeth Strikes Again!

Elizabeth, Steve and John after their failed attempt to take over the world. As you can see, Elizabeth painted her hat white in a vain attempt to look "good" so people would buy the candy

Elizabeth P. Bat Mitten can’t seem to get off the headlines, can she? When I, Mr. Smiley heard she could be getting in more trouble, I rushed over to the scene with my photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater. The scene is, like always, Riverville, New York. Nice little place, plenty of parking space, and lots of hot cocoa! Wait, why am I talking about cocoa? Anyway, back to the story. Elizabeth decided she would once again try and take control of the world. This time though, she wanted more help than that of her trusty robotic hat named Max (whom she painted white). Her other assistants would be her husband, Steve Bat mitten and her son named John Bat mitten. They each started making cotton candy and unfortunately, it was a huge success. You see, the cotton candy was 2.1% (candy) cotton and 98.9% sugar. Since it was pretty much all sugar, it made most of the people who ate way to active and after a day or two they fainted. A few people who didn’t faint were Christy Poppyseed, Debby Boxford, Becky McGregor, Steve Stephen, and their parents. When they learned everyone else fainted (except of course your trusty reporter and photographer, Daniel and I), they devised a plan to get the police back in action. By working together producing skunk spray to put in front of their noses, they were able to revive the police and the police were able to capture the Bat mittens (who were so undulged in cotton candy that thy couldn't escape). It is recommended never to try Elizabeth’s food . . . again!

Story written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographs taken by: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan M.

Weekly Cartoon

Next Issue: Unknown

Rerun Article: Sarassic Park Stomps Into Theaters!

The theatrical poster for "Sarassic Park". It will be showing in theaters starting this Friday (May 17, 2013)!

People shuddered by the thousands when dinosaurs made their way onto the movie screen in Jurassic Park when it was released in 1993. That was 20 years ago. You could practically call Jurassic Park the first movie ever to have real dinosaurs on screen, rather than those fake-looking stop-motion ones that killed everything that moved. Ever since Jurassic Park came out, people have wanted their dinosaur movies to be more realistic than ever before. Now a new dinosaur movie is coming into theaters this Friday (May 17, 2013). Enter: Sarassic Park! It may sound a little bit like “Sarcastic Park”, but it's nothing of the sort. When I heard about this movie, my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater and I went to talk with the people who made this film, such as the director, Stephen Iceberg (is there any coincidence it rhymes with the famous movie-director Steven Spielberg?). When I asked him what the basic plot of this film was and if it was different than Jurassic Park, he is quoted for saying, “Contrary to what everyone's thinking about this movie, despite it's title, the plot has nothing to do with Jurassic Park. It's a totally new movie featuring new species of dinosaurs that tend to look remarkably like everyone's favorite actor, Sarah Bus Stop Guy! So the plot is about this girl named Sarah Bus-Stop-Guy who creates this theme park called Sarassic Park. Now at this park, they have cloned some species of dinosaurs that have never been seen before, such as the dangerous and very intelligent Sarahlosiraptor, the venom-spitting Sarahlophosaurus, the ever-popular Trisarahtops, and of course the mighty Tysarahsaurus rex, just to name a few.” For more details on the plot, I asked the one of the film's producers, Katelene Cassidy (which seems to rhyme with Jurassic Park's producer's name, Kathelene Kennedy). “This film is about paleontologists Dr. Alphonso Grant (played by Sir Lamb Deal, which rhymes with Jurassic Park star, Sam Neil) and Dr. Lizzy Sattenberger (played by Dora Churn, which appears to rhyme with Jurassic Park star, Laura Dern), a math teacher named Dylan Malcolm (played by Jeff Moldblum, which seems very familiar to Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum) and of course, the park's creator, Sarah Bus-Stop-Guy (the movie-makers couldn't get Sarah herself to play the part, so they enlisted Sarah Sillyheart to play the part) as they try to create a theme park full of dinosaurs. They don't do this on an island like what happens in Jurassic Park, but instead they build it in Florida. But things go terribly wrong and the dinosaurs escape (sound familiar?). Now the dinosaurs are running amok in Florida.” I tried to ask Katelene for more details, but she said that we'd have to wait for the movie to come out to find out more. If you ask me though, despite what the movie-makers say, this sounds a great deal like Jurassic Park. Next, my photographer and I went to interview Sarah Bus Stop Guy herself (as you'll recall, “Bus Stop Guy” is a three-part last name) to see what her opinion on the movie was. When asked if she was excited about the movie, she said, “NO! I don't like that movie!” When asked why she didn't like it, she responded, “Because it's involving me in a bad way . . . it's making me popular, of course, but in a bad way . . . wait! Are you going to put what I'm saying in the newspaper? That's does it! I'm not answering any more of your questions!” She then got up from her chair, went into her house and slammed the door shut behind her. Interesting way for a preteen to act when getting interviewed I must say! I know from personal experience that Sarah can be very, very juvenile a large percent of the time. But anyway, I'm getting off topic here! Sarassic Park is coming into theaters May 17, 2013. I'm not so sure that this movie is going to be awarded “Best Picture of the Year” considering its MANY similarities to Jurassic Park, but hey, it will be funny to see Sarah Bus Stop Guy, everyone's favorite, very juvenile, sarcastic TV star play it out on the big screen with everyone's favorite prehistoric reptiles (even if Sarah herself isn't going to be in the movie!).

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoon

Next Issue: Rerun Article: Elizabeth Strikes Again!

Rerun Article: Fueling the Future

The amazing car that Dr. James Crowferd invented.

You know it, as a matter of fact, we all know it: the plain and simple truth is gas prices are going up, up, up. And income for many of us is just going down, down, down. Gas prices just aren’t helping the situation. Well, Dr. James Crowferd of Vassar College, USA might be an answer to your prayers! He has just made an astounding discovery: how to make a car run on almost nothing but air. You read the last word right: AIR! The same oxygen we breathe in and out every single day. How does the car, nicknamed the “Airway”, run on air anyway? Well, first in order to get it to go, Dr. James decided to get rid of another problem many of us have: trash build-up. First, all that the car needs to start is some trash from that trash can you have sitting around (you can kiss the garbage truck goodbye!). Simply put the trash in the same place gas would normally go and then you’re off! After the car is running, air rushes into the front of the car through a hole. The air rushing into the hole causes little windmills inside the car to turn and the air comes bursting out the back. “I invented this car because I have a vision – a clear, almost new-looking earth with cleaner air and water,” says Dr. James. When I asked him about the price of the car, he winced and said, “Well, I’m not really in this for the money, but the prices at first are going to be a little high – around $300,000,000, at least until they catch on. Then I plan to lower the price to around $50,000. And if that works out, even lower.” So when this new cars start to catch on, perhaps being “green” with our cars will be a breeze.

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoon

Next Issue: Rerun Article: Sarassic Park Stomps Into Theaters!

Rerun Article: Age-Old Jellyfish Visits Animal Adventures Inc.

Jello, the 6,000-year old Immortal Jellyfish, he's pretty smart and talkative for a guy with no brain or heart or mouth...

The average lifespan of a human is around 60-90 years. As modern medicine gets better and better, we live even longer. The oldest person alive in “recent” times died at the age of around 120 years old. But that’s nothing compared to heroes of the Bible. Adam, the first man, lived around 930 years. Seth, Adam's third son, lived about 912 years. Noah lived about 950 years and Enoch lived on earth until he reached 365 years of age when God took him away. But the person who’s lived the longest, by no coincidence also has an extremely long name – Methuselah! Methuselah lived to be 960 years old until death. If he had lived another 30 years, he would have been 1,000 years old! But these long-lived people were of Bible times. Animals, even ones living today have some pretty long lifespans as well. Elephants live to be about 80+. Tortoises can live around 200 to perhaps around 250 years old. Many whales can live into their 400’s. The recently cloned sauropods – or long-necked dinosaurs – can live to be 200 years old or more. Recently, a jellyfish by the name of Jello has come to stay at Animal Adventures Studios (the part of Animal Adventures Inc. (AAI.) that does TV broadcasting and movies). He seems like a pretty old guy, so after asking if he’d like to be an interviewee, I asked him how old he is. Jello is quoted for saying, “I am 6,000 years old and counting.” Whoa! Now a lot of people reading that response must be thinking, “this guy needs to go in the Lunacy Aquarium!” At first I thought this was a little weird too so I asked him if he was kidding. “I do not kid,” says Jello. “Many people think I’m hoodwinking them when I tell them my age, but I’m not. You see, I’m from a species of jellyfish called Turritopsis nutricula, or the Giant Immortal Jellyfish. God created us as an amazing breed of jellyfish. See, most jellyfish have a fixed lifespan, but as my species name suggests, we don’t! Whenever we start aging and getting physically old, we have an amazing ability – we just revert back to the polyp or baby jellyfish stage. Then we grow up and get older until we revert again! Isn’t it amazing? The only way we get killed is by predators or illness. But most of us are really, really small, so many of us get eaten easily. Only a few ‘lucky’, or rather, ‘providential’ ones get to such a large size as I am.” I, as the reporter, was shocked that a jellyfish could live so-o-o-o long. I was still curious if the jellyfish was telling a tall tale, but I did my research and found otherwise. In fact, here is the webpage I looked at to see if the jellyfish was telling the truth. And sure enough, there really is a species called the Immortal Jellyfish. Who knew? God actually did create animals with the ability to keep on living. I then asked Jello if other animals have been given this gift. “Well, as you know not many animals can keep on living, but this gift might be shared with another invertebrate that is often served boiled red on a large platter at Red Lobster restaurant. Yes, that’s right, the lobster might also have the ability to keep on living, scientists aren’t yet sure. I guess they might be able to know the answer if they didn’t kill them for food so much!” I then decided to visit AAI.’s leading geneticist, Dr. Steve Stevenson to see what he thinks about this. This was his response: “Not many people know about the abilities of the Immortal Jellyfish. But perhaps these animals will be able to help the human race. You see, if we study the jellyfish to see how they are able to live so long, maybe we will be able to reveal how we humans can do the same. Who knows? These jellyfish could help us a lot!” Who knew a jellyfish could be so fascinating? I guess tales of animals with long lives really are telling the truth and not such a “long-lived tall tale” after all!

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan

*Advertisement*

We here at Smiley’s News, I have been working night and day to get articles ready. I could really use some help! So we are looking for people interested in writing (especially kids and teens). If you are interested, PLEASE(!) send an email to animaladventures@aol.com and save me from working night and day! I’m exhausted!

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Rerun Article: Fueling the Future

Rerun Article: Riverville's Potential is Bunnyville!

The Invasion of the Bunnies! Dr. Elizabeth Sorkin (left) and Nigel Milligan (right) survey the extent of this "bunny migration"

Easter is approaching soon! Soon, people will be having Easter egg hunts and will be going to the mall to have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. Speaking of bunnies, we can’t seem to get them out of our minds here in Riverville, New York, especially with the latest incident last Saturday! Two of the first witnesses of what was about to happen were Mr. Nigel Milligan, CEO of Animal Adventures Inc. (AAI.) and Dr. Elizabeth Sorkin, lead veterinarian at AAI. They were outside on a stroll through AAI. when suddenly the ground started to rumble (rumble). It shook (shook)! It trembled (trembled)! It shuddered (shuddered)! It shook (shook)! It . . . did I mention shook? “It was a normal day when my employee and friend Dr. Sorkin, decided to take a walk through the campus,” says Nigel. “Then all of a sudden, it felt like a tremor was approaching!” Dr. Sorkin was also surprised by the ground shaking so wildly. She is quoted for saying, “I really had no idea what it was that was approaching AAI. At first I thought it was an earthquake but that was until I saw what was coming over the horizon.” And what to the couple’s wondering eyes should appear . . . but a large cloud of dust and an army of bunnies my dear? Rabbits and hares by the thousands suddenly came stampeding over the hills and toward AAI! As the rabbits ran toward them they had to duck and cover as the rabbits came. They are now everywhere! Another witness, Mr. Fred Fish and his friend Dr. Dodo were also surprised by the appearance of the bunnies. “These bunnies are everywhere!” says Mr. Fish. “I almost feel like the Egyptians must have felt when Egypt became overrun with frogs when God used Moses to cast down the second plague! Except these creatures are much cuter than frogs. But they poop everywhere!” Within ten minutes, thousands of rabbits are hip-hopping across the campus, eating shrubs and other plants. The other animals and people living at AAI. dare not open their doors more than necessary! It’s a good thing most of the creatures and people living here didn’t plant gardens yet, because with these bunnies around, it would be no more! These bunnies are bothering even the largest of creatures. Rachael the female Tyrannosaurus rex, mother of three is very annoyed by this. “I have to be careful every time I step out the door to make sure no bunny rabbits sneak into the AAI. I’m telling you, I’d eat the bunnies if I could, but the thing is that there are so many of them, that if I started eating them, it wouldn’t make a dent in the population. Besides, they are so hard for a big predator like myself to catch.” But the question everyone has is why all these rabbits are here instead of deeper in the forest. Dr. Sorkin has a few theories as to why these rabbits have left the forest where they live and came here. “I have a few theories as to why the rabbits are here instead of in the forest. Lately, a few miles west of here, major deforestation has been happening at an alarming rate. Perhaps these rabbits are ‘refugees’, fleeing the destruction of their homes. We have to find another home for these rabbits before they eat our plant life down to nothing!” The rabbits were getting everywhere and really annoying, so Nigel, Dr. Sorkin, Mr. Fish and Dr. Dodo had a plan! “The plan we have designed,” says Nigel, “is to use the rabbit’s superb sense of smell to our advantage. We have machine here that will emit a smell into the air that the bunnies can’t resist. ‘What smell?’ you ask? Why, carrots, of course! As we all know bunnies can’t resist the smell of carrots if the scent is strong enough. We have been granted permission by the Wildlife Protection Unit of New York State to release these bunnies into one of the national parks where they’ve had a real lack of rabbits lately.” So they turned the machine on, put it on a special truck and started driving away from AAI. The rabbits couldn’t resist the smell and started to follow the truck right out of the AAI. area. Pretty soon the rabbits were led into the forests of the national park and AAI. was saved from complete “de-plantistation”! “I do love rabbits,” says Dr. Dodo. “But we already had enough here at AAI. before that mob came along. I don’t at all miss the smell those rabbits produced! Not one bit!” And with Dr. Dodo, I’d have to agree.

Written by: Mr. Smiley

Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater

Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Rerun Article: Age-Old Jellyfish Visits Animal Adventures Inc.

The Caper in the Nighttime

“I'd like to know what happened to my carrot cake that was going to be for a party next week,” Lizzy announces, turning toward Jack the Jackrabbit.

“Oh sure, blame it on the rabbit!” Jake exclaims. “I don't even like carrots.”

“Well, who else ate my cake?” Lizzy asks.

Jake shrugs.

“You're very helpful,” she mutters.

“You're welcome,” He accepts.

Lizzy sighs and heads over to Mr. Smiley's office.

“Hey Mr. Smiley, do you know what happened to my carrot cake? I left it in the fridge last night and..what are you doing?” she yells.

Mr. Smiley is standing dangerously on a his tiptoes on top of a chair while trying to fix the light bulb on the ceiling light. Then the chair tips and Mr. Smiley comes crashing down, light bulb with it.

“Um...are you all right?” Lizzy asks.

“I'm fine...I was uh, just fixing the light. It was driving me crazy, all that flickering,” Mr. Smiley states.

“You could have just used the ladder,” Lizzy points out.

“Yeah well, I would've, but I couldn't find it,” he answers.

“It's usually in the closet,” she suggests. “Did you check the kitchen?”

Mr. Smiley nods his head.

“I looked everywhere and finally I just gave up,” He informs.

“That's weird,” Lizzy remarks. “Well, I need to go find my cake but if I see the ladder, I'll put it back where it belongs.”

“Thanks,” Mr. Smiley says, trying to clean up the broken glass.

Lizzy heads over to the kitchen. Maybe Chef Rack-coon moved it somewhere safe. As she arrives in the kitchen, Lizzy finds the place a mess and Chef Rack-coon is looking through a cabinet.

“Hey have you seen my carrot cake?” Lizzy asks. “You know with the yellow and white icing?”

Chef Rack-coon gets out from under the counter.

“You mean the cake that was left in the fridge last night?” he repeats.

“Yeah!” Lizzy exclaims.

“Never saw it this morning,” he recalls. “It wasn't wrapped properly so I did that so it would stay fresh overnight.”

“Oh, so you haven't seen it since?” Lizzy states.

“Nope, sorry,” Chef Rack-coon reconciles, “I would help you look but I've got other problems.”

“Like what?” Lizzy asks.

“I can't seem to find my favorite rolling pin. I must have misplaced it but I could've sworn I put it back where it belongs.”

“Oh.”

“By the way, have you asked Jack about your carrot cake?” Chef Rack-coon inquires, “maybe he ate it.”

“Why is everyone accusing me!” yells a voice in another room. “I HATE CARROTS!!!”

Where could Lizzy's carrot cake be? What happened to the ladder and Chef Rack-coon's favorite rolling pin? Who took them and why? Jack!

“It isn't me!” Jack wails.

Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater
Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Rerun Article: Riverville's Potential is Bunnyville!

Rerun Article: A Dinosaurian Misidentification

On the outside, a baby hadrosaur (left) and baby T. rex (right) don't look that similar, but  when only fossil bone fragments are discovered, misidentifications are common.

You may recall that a few months ago on the Tricera-Clash article, we spoke of the find of five Tyrannosaurus, two adults and three young ones, in one location and a Triceratops. But recent studies prove differently. My photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater and I went to Dr. Samuel and Dr. Indiana Adamson (the paleontologists who initially made the discovery) to get the full scoop on the story. “Last year, we thought we had five tyrannosaurs,” says Dr. Samuel. “But this was put in question when we took a closer look at the fossils of the baby tyrannosaurs. When we first dug them up from the ground, they were still encased in solid rock . . . here at the lab we cleaned that rock off using special equipment and finally we are thinking that things were not at all what they seemed.” After taking the rock off of the “baby tyrannosaur” specimens, the paleontologists looked at the creatures’ heads and noticed something – a duckbill! Tyrannosaurs don’t have duckbills. “When we saw the duckbills, we knew that we had been wrong before,” says Dr. Indiana. “Once we took an even closer look at the skeleton, we realized that indeed the whole body is quite different from a tyrannosaur. No, the fossils we have are from a trio of baby hadrosaurs!” Baby hadrosaurs, or duckbilled dinosaurs, are very different from tyrannosaurs, as you can plainly see in the picture above. Dr. Indiana continued, “The fossil adult T. rex however, are really T. rex. So at least we have that straight. This is not the first fossil mistake paleontologists have made. In fact, the history of paleontology is littered with mistakes!” And right Dr. Indiana is! The history of paleontology is littered with dinosaur mistakes and misidentifications. Here are a few examples:

• Brontosaurus, one of the most famous of all dinosaurs, never existed; it was actually made up of the head of a camarasaur and the body of an apatosaur. While both are long-necked dinosaurs, they are very different.
• A duckbilled dinosaur called Anatotitan never existed either, it is actually a member of the Edmontosaur genus.
• A pterosaur (or flying reptile, which is not a dinosaur by the way) leg bone was thought to have been found in the Middle east. If it was a leg bone, this pterosaur might have had a wingspan of over 70 feet! However the “leg bone” was discovered to be, not from a pterosaur, but it was actually a petrified tree trunk!
• One of the most shocking of all is when a paleontologist put the fossil bones of a swimming reptile called Elasmosaurus (not a dinosaur) and thought that it had a short neck and a very long tail. Well, he thought the bones were an “irregular fit” so he had one of his friends expect the fossils and he found the problem – the head was on the wrong end!

One of the most recent possible misidentifications is that of another tyrannosaur named “Jane”. Jane is a tyrannosaur, but scientists aren’t sure which type. She looks very different from an adult T. rex so originally she was thought to be a different species and called the new species “Nanotyrannus”. Now this has been put in question and some scientists now believe that “Nanotyrannus” is actually a juvenile T. rex. Other scientists disagree because they believe that “Nanotyrannus” has too many differences from T. rex to be a juvenile T. rex because there were more differences than is expected for a maturing tyrannosaur. So far, only two specimens of “Nanotyrannus” have been found. Until more bones are found, Jane’s fossils will still elude us!

Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater
Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: The Caper in the Nighttime

New Semi-Aquatic Spinosaur Unveiled At Animal Adventures Institute

Right when we thought that we wouldn't see another dinosaur from Dr. Steve Stevenson's Animal Adventures Institute (AAI) until next winter, he unveils yet another! This time, a large theropod called Suchomimus. Hearing the news of Dr. Steve's newest genetically engineered dinosaur, my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater, and I went to Dr. Steve's laboratory to get a look at the new creature.

“The reason we didn't unveil this beauty before,” says Dr. Steve, “is because we were thought its egg was a dud. However, instead of giving up on it, we decided to keep it in the incubator and low and behold...my assistant Oliver Oviraptor found the problem.” Dr. Steve went on to explain that Oliver had turned the temperature too low for too long, explaining why it wasn't hatching. “What can I say?” Oliver asked. “How was I supposed to know it was too low.”

Without further ado, I decided to ask just what Suchomimus was. Oliver is quoted for saying, “The 36-foot long, five-ton Suchomimus tenerensis was a member of the spinosaur family. It lived in northern Africa up until 4,350 years ago, when the great Genesis Flood destroyed the pre-Flood world as man and animal at the time knew it.”

I found out that day that Suchomimus spends a lot of time in and around the water. It was perfectly designed for a semi-aquatic lifestyle (though not to the extent of the short-legged Spinosaurus, Suchomimus' close cousin). Its eyes and nostrils are located high on the skull, just like a crocodile's. In addition to this, it also has a crocodile-like jaw able to snatch its favorite prey – fish – from the water. To help it catch fish, it also had sharp claws and strong forearms. “The fish that Suchomimus preyed upon,” Dr. Steve said, “were very different from the ones found in that region today. Actually, the entire ecosystem was different back then! In the pre-Flood world, northern Africa was a swampland, filled with boggy plants. The area was inhabited by herbivorous dinosaurs, like the sail-backed ornithopod Ouranosaurus. Pterosaurs and large crocodiles, like the 40-foot Sarcosuchus also lived there. Suchomimus probably preyed upon large fish such as the Coelocanth, which can still be found in the Indian Ocean today.”

But one of the coolest features of Suchomimus was the ridge down its back and tail. It is used for display purposes.

Suchomimus – the awesome semi-aquatic fish-eater – will be living in the Spinosaurus apartment room. I'm glad Dr. Steve has brought back another species from extinction.

Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater
Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Unknown

Lizzy and the Glass Harp

I walked through the streets when I heard some beautiful music. I hurried over to see a man playing music with glasses of water! I was curious. As the man collected tips from the crowd, I went over to the glasses. I took my tail and tried to make music like the man did, but then I accidentally hit the glass too hard and it broke. The man turned around and saw me.

“You Lizard! Look what you did!” He yelled, furious. “How am I supposed to play my music with a broken glass?”

I was a little embarrassed.

“I could get you a new one?” I suggested.

“No, no that will not do,” the man stated, “these glasses are unique for this glass harp.”

“ A glass harp?” I asked in wonder.

“Yes, a glass harp,” the man responded, “you play music on it.”

“How do you get the right pitches?” I asked, curious.

“You change the water level in the glass,” he replied. “You can also use different sizes of the same glass.”

“Cool! Can I play?” I state, excited.

“Yes...you just...” he starts to instruct. “Wait a second! No you can't play it, look what you did to my glass!”

“I'll pay for it!” I volunteered.

“You have $155 with you?” he says curiously.

“Er...not really,” I admit, “lizards don't carry around much money.”

“Well then I've got an idea...” the man said.

I found myself being his assistant for the day, collecting the tips and getting him more water for the glasses.

“You are lucky that I brought a spare set,” the man nods as he played the glass harp.

After a long day and a bunch of apologies, I head home. As I was leaving, I smelled a delicious aroma and ran over to it...PIZZA!

Written by: Lizzy the Lizard
Edited by: Christian Ryan

Weekly Cartoons

Next Issue: Semi-Aquatic Spinosaur is Unveiled at Animal Adventures Institute