By Cozette Calderon
“Welcome to Jurassic Park…”
Jurassic’s park’s 30th anniversary just happened. A beloved movie based on a dinosaur theme park was brought to the big screen in 1993, a time before advanced technologies used for analysis were created and certain dinosaurs were even discovered. So what did Jurassic park get right and wrong in their journey of reanimating these extinct creatures? Here are 5 facts to improve your dinosaur/Jurassic Park knowledge:
- Inaccurate: Velociraptors were tall enough to open a kitchen door
The terrifying, terrorizing pack-style dinosaurs known as Velociraptors were shown to be just shorter than a fully grown adult. In reality, they were only the size of a tiny turkey and weighed around 30 pounds. For reference: a hen is normally 17 pounds and 20 inches, and a turkey is normally 45 pounds. Fully grown, adult male turkeys can reach up to 3 feet. Still, that’s shorter than the average 10 year old child. So that terrifying scene of a Velociraptor opening a kitchen door while chasing beloved characters is definitely not happening.
So where did Jurassic Park get the concept for the dramatic Velociraptor we see? Well, these much taller and scarier Velociraptors were based on their subjectively less cool-named, but much larger cousins, Deinonychus.
We know now that Velociraptors wouldn’t have been able to be the inducer of a blood-curdling scream, especially because these turkey-sized dinosaurs were also likely covered in feathers. So, these dinosaurs would really have been the dinner during the Jurassic period’s Thanksgiving. Still, this version of such a creature makes for one exciting plot.
Information by: Thought.Co and WatchMojo
- Accurate: T-rex was truly a biter
Tyrannosaurus-rex, popularly referred to as the T-rex, is known to be one of the big bad villains in the very first Jurassic Park. In fact, since such a portrayal, society has viewed the T-Rex as the king of all dinosaurs. Jurassic Park substantiated this by showing the power of the T-rex. We see the power specifically with the T-rex’s powerful jowls, eating a human in one foul go, along with biting off the roof of a car. According to research, the T-Rex had a bite force of around 35,000 newtons. Need a comparison? Humans have a bite force of around 300 newtons. So, this beast’s killer bite was certainly not fabricated.
Information by: Smithsonian Magazine and wisconsin.edu
- Inaccurate: Pterosaurs had strong feet that could hold humans.
What are Pterosaurs? It’s actually the name of the family that Pterodactyls belong to. You know, the dinosaurs that have bat-like wings and feet? In films, Pterodactyls are often portrayed to be like a claw in a claw-game at an arcade. Well, in reality, if you were transported back to the Jurassic period and encountered a member of the Pterosaurs family, you wouldn’t have to worry about being carried off into a nest or cave. According to a Paleontologist in Forbes, a Pterodactyl would have weak feet that wouldn’t be able to hold much weight—especially not a human.
- Accurate: Chaos theory
For those who find human created theory more fascinating than the 65 million year old creatures, you’ll be pleased to know the chaos theory discussed is factually true.
The Chaos theory explains “how small changes in initial conditions can have large effects on the behavior of complex systems.” While in Jurassic Park this theory is connected to how recreating dinosaurs in an environment even just slightly different to how the earth was back in the Jurassic period can cause a poor effect and cause the dinosaurs to leak beyond the barriers, in our real-life world, chaos theory is used in for everyday things like the weather and the stock market.
Information by: Movie.web
- Inaccurate: Dilophosaurus wouldn’t be able to blind you
Dilophosaurus is a real-life dinosaur, but it might be a little different than what you’re thinking of. Have no idea what I’m talking about? In Jurassic Park, the Dilophosaurus is the creature to blind and eat Denis Nedry–the thief of dinosaur DNA.
This Dinosaur that was probably embedded in your nightmares is said to have a large frill that makes it resemble the Frilled-neck Lizard, while also being able to spit acid as a hunting mechanism. Sadly, this fascinating dinosaur shows no proof of having such a frill. Furthermore, the projectile venom-vomit is completely fictitious. There has been no scientific proof of any venom or acid spitting dinosaur, as cool as that would be. At least you wouldn’t have to worry about going blind before being devoured.
Information by: Study.Com
We as a society will never stop being fascinated with dinosaurs, partly due to the wonderful world Jurassic Park created, so let’s take this time to remember one of our favorite films—even its factual fantasies, which sure did make for one thrilling watch.
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