a breakthrough in science? or just in hyperbole?

[ideath]

Comments

[glowing_fish]

Here is a picture of an early, primitive bicycle, in its natural setting in the Burgess Fauna:

[ideath]

Is that bicycle made of cartilage?

[glowing_fish]

Well, as you know, the bicycles that were buried in the heavily anaerobic environment of the Burgess Shale slowly had their soft parts replaced with minerals. This being the case, we can't know with absolute certainty what the original material was. However, according to Burton, McMeyers, et al. in their 2002 monograph "Microcrystalline fracture lines in the spokes of the Cambrian bicyclus macrorotus", the structure of early bicycles was probably a calcium based solid. This makes sense in lieu of the fact that bone is in most cases a more pristine form than cartilage, with cartilage actually being a derived trait.

However, as in most cases with early bicycle faunas, experts are not in total agreement on this point.

[e2satori]

La Brea Bicycle Pits?

[ideath]

Tragic episode in bicycle prehistory!

[pmb]

The article was obviously written by a member of an extremist cult offshot from the young-earth creationists.

[boojum]

Philadelphia Airport has an exhibit which is a giant bicycle carved out of wood and a giant motorcycle made out of seashells. Perhaps this exhibit is a natural history display, not an art display, and the giant vehicles were dug up nearby.