Sue and I spotted a wonderful dinosaur-themed piece of mechanical art whilst visiting the Mechanical Art and Design Museum (Stratford-upon-Avon).  It was one of several extinct animal mechanical contraptions we observed.  For example, there were plenty of dodos too.  This device made us smile.  Entitled “Evolutionary Blunders” – the theropod dinosaur struggles with puzzle.  The puzzle is a Rubik’s cube, challenging to us humans and the dinosaur is concentrating hard trying to complete the task.

An amusing mechanical device. The theropod dinosaur struggles to solve a puzzle. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The caption reads:

“With an IQ of only 2.3 the Dinosaur soon lost the will to live at the introduction of the Rubic Cube.”

Dinosaurs in Popular Culture

The Dinosauria are ubiquitous. Dinosaurs pervade popular culture. They are not just in books, television documentaries and movies it seems they are everywhere. Businesses, educators and media creators continue to draw on their appeal, using dinosaurs to inspire curiosity and communicate science to wide audiences.  Perhaps, it’s the immense size of some of these reptiles, or the fact that all the non-avian dinosaurs are extinct.  Whatever, the reasons the popularity of dinosaurs seems undiminished.

In addition, new fossil discoveries and research into already catalogued specimens reveal fresh insights into the lives of these remarkable creatures.  For example, we recently wrote an article about the erection of a new dinosaur genus (Cryptarcus russelli), based on a re-examination of a skull fossil found ninety years ago.  Dinosaurs can still surprise us.

To read our article on the new horned dinosaur genus (C. russelli): A New Species of Chasmosaurine Dinosaur is Erected.

Furthermore, at the museum we discovered an exhibit featuring a theropod head that had been made from scrap metal: An Amazing Mechanical Dinosaur Head.

Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“We congratulate all the designers for the creativity and ingenuity.”

The multi-award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.