# Counting dinosaurs, and my car **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563 "2021-07-29T00:15:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/1 "2021-07-29T00:15:05Z")
There’s a crucial scene in Jurassic Park (the novel, not the movie). People are starting to suspect the dinosaurs are breeding. Fortunately the dinosaurs are counted daily. Every count shows exactly 300 (IIRC) dinosaurs. Only… There’s a programming error. The dinosaurs are counted, but when the counter reaches 300 it stops counting. Duh-duh-DUH! So I leave the house today and I wonder how many miles I have on my 2005 Prius. I look at the odometer and it says 299999. Wow!😮 I’m going to get a picture when it turns over to 300,000 miles! I get to the end of the mile-long road. The odometer says 299999. I turn the corner and go to the intersection. 299999. I turn the corner and head toward the freeway. 299999. I guess Toyota didn’t expect their cars to last so long. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/2 "2021-07-29T02:15:27Z")
Toyota never should have used that frog DNA in the Prius. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/3 "2021-07-29T02:27:48Z")
@Darren_Garrison 👏 👏 👏 ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/4 "2021-07-29T02:29:35Z")
I can only count past 20 if I drop my pants. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/5 "2021-07-30T15:18:49Z")
And then you can get to 20.1… [knee-slappin’ emoji] ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/6 "2021-07-30T16:20:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Toyota never should have used that frog DNA in the Prius. You mean from one of [these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin-Healey_Sprite#Mark_I)? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/7 "2021-07-30T17:34:36Z")
The 299,999 limit is well known and Toyota corrected it the next year. Just Google it, there is lots of discussion. Apparently there is a fix for it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/8 "2021-07-30T17:39:10Z")
I did before I posted. I’m not going to fix it. The car has 300,000+ miles on it. I’m starting to think about looking for a new used car. I just can’t fathom why Toyota would put a 299,999 mile limit on their odometers. What’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-dinosaurs-and-my-car/947563/9 "2021-07-30T21:29:24Z")
Here’s an old but wonderful thread on a similar subject: A Honda with a clock showing the date. According to Honda , after the 28th of February, the natural thing to do is display February 29, Feb 30, Feb 31,Feb 32,33,34,35,36,etc… Although after February 99, there seems to be a little bit of a problem… > [@The most useless accessory in my car is now even more useless](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612): > > My car has this date display which I think is the most completely useless accessory possible. It’s not part of the clock - the clock is part of the radio display. This date display is a separate LED display built into the plastic thing on the ceiling that the rear-view mirror hangs down from, which also has the sunroof controls and the compartment for my sunglasses. In fact, if it weren’t for me looking up to get my sunglasses, I’d probably forget the date thing was even there. It doesn’t even …