July 2006 Headlines in Review

Besides the intolerable heat waves to spread across the globe, there have been tons of interesting news headlines to hit the scene for the month of July, including archeology, natural history, as well as ancient reptile discoveries.

 

The New Creation Museum (Petersburg, Kentucky)

 

In Petersburg, Kentucky, a new kind of museum has been established. To tell the intriguing story regarding the history of natural history, the Creation Museum uses the Bible to illustrate key points. The museum aims to challenge the standard thinking of science and how the Earth was created. On the premises, there is a theater filled with special effects, which can seat 180 visitors. There is also a recreation of what Noah’s Ark must have looked like. It is 40 feet tall. Robotic dinosaurs are also on display. One of the brains behind the construction of the museum believes that most of the fossils we are familiar with today were discovered as a result of the Great Flood, which is presented within the Book of Genesis. Costing more than $25 million to develop, this museum will be ready for audiences of all ages sometime next year.

 

Two Ancient Reptile Discoveries (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Two ancient retiles, who resided throughout the icy cold Australian waters have been discovered. They are said to have live about 115 million years ago. The find is significant because the reptiles are the first of their kind to be discovered from the time period following the Jurassic era. The discoveries are categorized in a group of animals referred to as plesiosaurs. These reptiles possessed long necks and lived in water. It is believed that the infamous Loch Ness Monster is supposedly a plesiosaur as well. The two specimens found were called Umoonasaurus and Opallionectes. Paleontologists were able to surmise that they had found a new species when pieces of fossils collected from the past 30 years were analyzed.

 

The Umoonasaurus is what was called a rhomaleosaurid, which could be compared to the size of a killer whale. It had four flippers, a rather long neck, accompanied by a small head and short tail. It resembled the shape of a reptile-like seal. The Opallionectes was larger than the Umoonasaurus, measuring close to 20 feet long. One characteristic of this specimen is that it possesses needle-sharp teeth that was used to capture small fish and squid.

 

Archeologists Searching for the Black Paul Bunyan (East Haddam, Connecticut)

 

It will take months to conclude, but the relatives of Venture Smith have granted permission for archeologists to dig deep to find the clues that may lay to rest whether or not the legendary “black Paul Bunyan” really existed. Locals claim that he stood 6 foot 1 and weighed about 300 pounds, carrying around with him an axe that weighed nine pounds. His story is one of the first slave narratives to emerge during the late 1700s. While others claim that his accomplishments were embellished, family members differ. The clues found within his DNA, which will be extracted from his bones, will soon tell a tale of their own.