FlipFact of the Day: The terrifyingly iconic Velociraptor of ‘Jurassic Park’ was actually based on another dinosaur (or to be more specific, what many THOUGHT that other dinosaur looked like). In reality, the sickle-toed, super-smart stars of the film were as small as today’s turkeys.
V. mongoliensis and Deinonychus antirrhopus were both dromaeosaurids, a family of feathered meat-eating dinosaurs. While both Velociraptor and Deinonychus had distinctive sickle-shaped claws on their second toes, the former was only about half the size of the latter.
What’s up with the mix-up, though? Read this if you want to know.
Today’s Science History Milestone: On July 10, 1962, Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched into orbit.
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References
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/you-say-velociraptor-i-say-deinonychus-33789870/
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Author: Mikael Angelo Francisco
Bitten by the science writing bug, Mikael has years of writing and editorial experience under his belt. As the editor-in-chief of FlipScience, Mikael has sworn to help make science more fun and interesting for geeky readers and casual audiences alike.
