this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 97 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So without their feathers they look like they act?

[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I hope what you're implying is that swan feathers are a suit made to deceive humans from their obvious lizard people pet agenda, and that Big Feather needs to be held accountable. I've already booked guests for the podcast and have 17 articles in my substack,

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I want to see a Jurassic Park movie where it's just geese and swans breaking out of captivity, and mildly annoying everyone.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You’ve never met a swan, have you?

“Mild annoyance” are the seagulls stealing your food.

(Yes, that swan dunked the seagull so it couldn’t fly away.)

Swans don’t steal food. You give it to them hoping they don’t murder you.

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (7 children)

Weirdly, the notion that swans are particularly aggressive is one I learnt on the English-speaking part of the internet (so I instantly assume it's an USianism). Any references to swan behaviour that I can find in German talk about how they're associated with calm and serenity.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

They are calm... by German standards.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 month ago

That's because the Germans have enough sense and morals to leave them alone :)

[–] brisk@aussie.zone 4 points 1 month ago

I've hung out with swans heaps in Australia and they've been almost entirely chill bros who will take food if offered but won't harass you for it. I wonder if different species have different demeanours, like how Canada geese are known for being especially aggressive.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 month ago

i have to wonder if americans uh, get them confused with geese.. Because geese can absolutely have a tendency to actively harass you, while swans don't get close enough to interact with us in the first place.

Unless american swans are just suffering from lead poisoning like the general population?

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[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

"Remain perfectly still, their vision is based on movement."

"Nah, fuck this bird." Kicks swan to the moon

[–] FrankDeath@infosec.pub 4 points 1 month ago

Boy have I got the video game for you: Untitled Goose Game

[–] Klear@quokk.au 2 points 1 month ago

I want to see a Jurassic Park movie where it's just realistic velociraptors breaking out of captivity and are just mildly annoying. Then the main character gets stomped on by a brachiosaurus.

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[–] waterore@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago (4 children)

That statement should start with "in the past". Recent depictions I've seen have them fully fleshed and feathered using up to date methods to create as accurate as possible models.

[–] Klear@quokk.au 31 points 1 month ago (3 children)

We even have ways to figure out their colouring in some cases now! Like this sinosauropteryx:

image

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's cool. How did they figure out the colouring?

[–] Klear@quokk.au 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

They found preserved melanosomes. It was previously thought these were the remains of bacteria.

You can find details here, but I highly recommend reading Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World by Michael J. Benton, who was one of the ones doing the research. The book is very fun to read (he's got that typical dry british humour), does a great job of describing the history and current status of paleontology (which is apparently exploding in new discoveries right now) and it has absolutely lovely illustrations, including the one I linked above. And also this anurognathus that is the cutest thing ever:

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[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 month ago

yeah, we have some absolutely amazing art these days. i particularly love this type of depiction of dromaeosaurs: Just MASSIVE birds with teeth instead of beaks and huge claws, they feel very.. cromulent..

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That post is of course a billion years old itself and the images created by shrink-wrapping are still in people's heads. Feathers on dinosaurs are rarely what people think of first as well and the notion has been around for quite a while.

[–] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Feathers have been found on dinosaur fossils only "recently", with the discovery of Sinosauropteryx in 1996

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Sorry, not entirely sure what you're saying?

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[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago

Maybe they don't fit under the term of "paleoartists" (they are artists of Paleolithic creatures) but the most popular modern depictions of dinosaurs are presumably the Jurrasic World movies, and I think they are almost universally lacking plumage. I've only seen the first, but the images I've seen I don't have any feathered dinos. So, no. This is still an ongoing issue.

[–] Gumus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A giant chicken, truly terrifying.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

New pokemon looks different

[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] Karjalan@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's neck is tied into a fucking knot 😂

That said though, this birb slaps. Really high power and good typing for the early game

[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

It's the go-to for S/V speedrunning for a reason! Low kick, double kick, and acrobatics turn it into a bulldozer XD

[–] sploosh@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Choose Goose is looking rough.

[–] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Those old-paleoartists were really unfettered.

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[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

I am both frightened and aroused

[–] Alberat@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

crazy how there's billion dollar movies that have embarrassingly incorrect dinosaurs in them

[–] filcuk@lemmy.zip 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Movies often align to the popular perception if a thing rather than reality. Otherwise you're watching a documentary.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

it's not like documentaries aren't plenty popular, that recent series on dinosaurs (walking with dinosaurs, i think?) with our homeboy David Attenborough was hyped as fuck, no cap, on god, etc

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[–] stray@pawb.social 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

While the look is based in old misconceptions of dinosaur biology, the Jurassic Park dinos lacking feathers actually works really well for the story. They were never meant to be real dinosaurs. They're just theme park attractions, so of course they look how the customers expect them to. Just like how most of them aren't even from the Jurassic period.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes that was the retcon explanation. The actual explanation is that they wanted to have Velociraptors in the movie and weren't really bothered about the fact that they aren't actually that big, there are species of raptor that are that large, but they didn't want to use their names because they were less well-known. Velociraptor was one of the few dinosaurs people knew. T-Rex didn't become famous until after Jurassic Park.

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[–] peteypete420@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Is it all the dinosaurs? Or just ones from specific eras that likely had feathers? Ill try to find ou5 myself later. But if anybody has a link to something akin to "feathered dinos for dummies" id love to check it out

[–] stray@pawb.social 3 points 1 month ago

All birds today are actually coelurosauria dinosaurs, a group of theropods (T-rex and raptor-shape dinosaurs) who are thought to have all had feathers for warmth, show, and/or gliding and flight. I know we have evidence that some other theropods had feathers (or at least hairy stuff), but I don't know whether the rest of them are lacking evidence of feathers or whether we have evidence against them having feathers.

I would also love such a book, preferably with lots of pictures.

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[–] craftrabbit@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 month ago

Wet owl moment

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 month ago

This is so outdated it's wrong.

[–] heyWhatsay@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If swans were making a metal band...

[–] zwerg@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Nah, they were an industrial band from the 80s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swans_(band)

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

I fucking knew it, they’re Tyranids!!

[–] Wynnded@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They'd look like dinosaurs.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They already look like dinosaurs.

[–] kalpol@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They already are dinosaurs

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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I’d say ‘nope!’ But they kinda look tasty…

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

They can break a man’s arm.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago

Not if you punt em

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