Did i miss the dinosaur extinction anniversary?

Great Debates
1

As far back as i remember, i always heard the dinosaurs extinctified 65 million years ago…
I’ve recently started seeing references to it being 66 million years…
So when did that tick over ?

2

Reminds me of the old joke about a student being asked when the dinosaurs went extinct and he answered sixty-five million and eight years ago. He was asked how he came up with such a precise figure. He said that his teacher had told him in the second grade that the dinosaurs had gone extinct sixty-five million years ago and it had been eight years since then.

3

It would be interesting to know the history of the dating. The Wikipedia page on the K–Pg boundary lists 66.043 +/- 0.011 Ma, which is more precision than I expected (not that I’m the least bit up to speed on radiometric dating.)

4

Well, 2020 has already lasted for approximately 1,000,000 years.

5

Radiometric dating techniques have improved and we have been able to get a more precise estimate of when the K-PG boundary is. It is basically a thin layer of ash found worldwide above which there are no non-avian dinosaurs.

6

Which supports my theory that the avian dinosaurs had a big barbecue and ate all of the other dinosaurs.

But, no, everyone wants to blame the asteroid.

7

So, tell Donald and he’ll make them teach the BBQ theory in schools.

8

Teach the controversy

9

Yeah, i reckon part that and part some scientist who just wants to be different.

10

I’ve found a good tertiary source from Quora which is in line with your post.

~Max

11

Well, there goes my reason for opening this thread - in the first reply, no less!

12

It’s all them leap-seconds the atomic-clock people kept throwing in. They added up.