1/28/2004: Antique hoax
 

http://cellar.org/2004/fakebabydragon.jpg

This glass jar is 30 inches tall and its contents appear to be fake. Um you knew that, right?

full story

David Hart found this in his garage (in Oxfordshire, UK), and asked his friend to look into it, along with the tin box of documents that accompanied it.

They think that it was created in the 1890s by German scientists and sent to Britain's Natural History Museum in an attempt to pull off a huge hoax. The museum sent it to be destroyed, but instead it was taken and hidden away, possibly by Hart's grandfather.

The story notes that "At the time, scientists were the equivalent of today's pop stars." -- but it's a quickie statement that isn't made by an expert; is this really the case? Too much of an over-simplification? I can imagine it being true in a pre-leisure era, when discoveries are suddenly leading to big changes and improvements in medicine and life in general.

So did the Germans want to claim that they had made this big discovery? Or did they want the Brits to announce it as important so the Germans could reveal it as a sham to show how stupid the Brit scientists were?

"The dragon is flawless, from the tiny teeth to the umbilical cord.

That's pretty intricate and detailed for ~1890! Maybe the idea of a previous hoax is, well, also a hoax?

http://www.envasion.net/2002/pix/feejee3.jpg

The sexy creature so many sailors dreamed about -- "The Feejee Mermaid" hoax by PT Barnum, 1842.

Sailors must be lonely people.

Kit, the "hoax of a hoax" was my first thought, but I figured I'd present it without that thought and see how long it took anyone else to point that out.

Five minutes, good work.

So far the story of this thing has been written exactly once, by the Telegraph, and has been presented with the "expert" opinion of this guy's friend.

I vote for "hoax of a hoax". A friend of mine has a couple of similar (down to the color) objects which are sold by a novelty company. His are "aliens" and "brains", but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a dragon as well.

What an incredible piece of work, though! And a great pic, to boot. I want a reflection hologram of this.

I'm almost sure I've seen that at an anti-choice rally.

Re: 1/28/2004: Antique hoax
 

Another question and even if it is created for fraudulent purposes. Is it art? Apparently it is quite good art - no matter what its purpose is. Or is art no longer art when its purpose to to defraud?

Why in the world does it have an umbilical cord? Don't we all know that dragons hatch form eggs?

You're thinking of mythical dragons. Real dragons are warm-blooded (actually hot-blooded).

Warm blooded?!
Assuming dragons exist-ed (yes, a long shot) they would either be reptiles or be very closely related to reptiles. As we all know reptiles are cold blooded. If you look at Komodo "Dragons" they are huge cold blooded lizards.

Anyway the fake looks pretty good, the umbilical cord is their only slip. Maybe the wings too.

I guess the question is what did the Germans do with the (dead?) mother dragon? :confused:

Fake or not, I want one.:)

Talk about your major doodadage. Woh.

What? You don't recognize sass without an icon?

One ought not inject logic into a conversation about dragons.

But what if dragons are more closely related to dinosaurs? There is a large school of thought that believes them to have been warm-blooded.

That doesn't mean that they can't also lay eggs!!

(thought we had dinoshells)

It's a damn shame it's not real eh? Speaking of warm blooded egg layers...

Quzah.

I hate to say it, but umbilical cord as evidence of hoax is based on error.

http://www.ridgenet.net/~do_while/sa...es/v4i12g8.jpg

(reptile egg diagram)

Sometimes amateur herpetologists get impatient, and open the eggs early, requiring the umbilical cord be cut, sutured, and antiseptic applied.

Q ... they're called BIRDS. Birds are warm blooded egg-layers.

That's why they don't fall out of the sky like stones in winter.

The beloved duckbilled platypus is merely (okay, not merely, they are quite astonishing) a mammal.

They aren't falling out of the sky but it is so dang cold here (Calgary, Alberta -36C Monday night) I'm finding frozen sparrows in my feeder.

Makes more sense that dragons would be decended from bird what with the wings and all.

Mythology would have us believe that the wyrm or dragon is of lizardish extraction.

However, few, if any, close observers of the beast were able to carry their knowledge back to the civilized world. These intrepid explorers tended to be crunchy and tasted good with a nice bechamel sauce.

It is also established dragon folklore that they lay eggs and sit their clutches. This points to a more bird-like origin, as most lizards lay 'em and forget 'em ... unless they're hungry in which case they eat 'em.

Modern biology would imply they share an ancestor with angels, pegasi, and centaurs, based on the fact that they are vertebrates with six limbs.

Don't forget winged pigs.... or pigs on the wing anyway.

This is clearly a juvenile dragon. Not only is its size a dead give away, but so too is it's shape.

The chest muscles have not developed enough to power wings of that size sufficiently to allow this beast to become airborne. Picture a chicken's breast, then look at this creature's. Also, like a newly hatched butterfly, it's wings are a bit diaphanous. Much like a human baby, a young dragon needs nurturing. Once the chest muscles develop, and the wings become leathery, this beast will be quite formidable indeed.

How do we know it's not a dead angel?:cool:

Dragons must have such beautiful wings of feathers.

I wonder if this is a male or female dragon?

And? Where in my post does it say anything about birds being or not being warm blooded? In fact, where does it say anything about birds? I simply stated:

"Speaking of warm blooded egg layers..."

What part are you confused about? Or are you trying to say that duckbills aren't warm blooded, because it isn't under dispute that they're egg layers.

Quzah.

Neither does it suggest that they are.

Why not just groove with the humor for a change, Q? I know you can do it ... I've seen it, and been appropriately amused ...

I don't know about warm blooded, but many birds are quite tasty.

And the birds have the advantage of pretty much being available year-round.

And the lizards pretty much taste like the birds, so ... let's hear it for the path of least resistance!

Yeah. I'd imagine it'd be fairly hard to take down a full grown dragon for a midnight snack...

Of course if dragons were bird kin...

Quzah.

Don't be silly, dragons never had any feathers. There is a really well researched documentary on the subject.

Which got me thinking... about Aztecs.


One of the great Gods of Ancient Mesoamerica, Quetzalcoatl is a synthesis of serpent and bird. The name means "quetzal serpent". The quetzal was a sacred bird of very beautiful feathers which were used in elite and ritual costumes. Quetzalcoatl, the patron of rulership, had several incarnations, the most important were as a creator god, as Ehecatl, the God of Wind; as the Morning Star; and asTopiltzin, a semi-human ruler, unique among the Gods.

The priestly Quetzalcoatl was often contrasted to his dark shamanic brother Tezcatlipoca, the God of war, and their relation veer between enmity and alliance.

According to Aztec and Mayan creation accounts, after the great floods ended the era of the Fourth Sun, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca raised the heavens and create the Earth. Since no people inhabitated the earth, Quetzalcoatl descended to the underworld to retrieve the remains of the people destroyed by the flood. Their bones were ground like corn into a fine meal and upon it the gods let their blood, thus creating the flesh of the present race and the era of the Fifth Sun.

Most people forget about Lord Feathered Serpent, even if they did see that episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series ...

Did you say Captain Feather Sword?

He had a kick-ass starship, too. It could holographically transform it's appearance to a space-going dragon.

Cut me open; count the rings...

Five years later, someone has used the Contact Us link to give us... the rest of the story (RIP Paul Harvey):

The story checks out. Thanks contributor! (I dunno if you wanted to remain anonymous)

Very interesting. But hardly ethical.

Ethical? Oh bugger that it's fun. Hoaxes have a long and proud history in science.

Historical Hoax or.... ?
 

You be the judge:
http://www.haxan.com/portfolio/freak...1/THUNDE~9.JPG

http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/...osaur_4_lg.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/...osaur_3_lg.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/...hunderbird.jpg

:eek:

Like creationism. ;)

Or Darwinism. Or Global Warming.