# Jurassic Park questions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886 "2013-03-25T04:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/21 "2013-03-25T19:45:45Z")
I was always bugged by the glaring discrepancy that the fences aroiund the T-Rex cage are ground level (the T-Rex simply strolls up to them and barrels through them), and then mysteriously are at the side of a huge cliff (the car gets knocked into the holding area and lands in the thick of a huge tree yards above the ground. What, did the T-Rex CLIMB up that cliff? Not with those spindly little arms! Also, I was a bit obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid. So I knew that the walking Komodo Dragons depicted in the movie looked nothing what a “velociraptor” was supposed to look like. (The ‘raptors’ from the film look akin to an actual dinosaur called “Deinonychus.” But there’s no cool badass nickname you can derive from a name like “Deinonychus.”) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/22 "2013-03-25T19:51:28Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I like Jurassic Park but one strange mistake they make that is hard to notice is early on in the movie when they first tour the Park, Ellie pulls a leave off a tree and starts to stunningly say the plant has been extinct for millions of years. She is interrupted by her first look at a living dinosaur. Later we find out how they made the Dinosaurs but not how they resurrected a plant. Well see, once they had the dinosaurs they recovered the seeds from the droppings. Easy as easy. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/23 "2013-03-25T20:04:06Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > But there’s no cool badass nickname you can derive from a name like “Deinonychus.”) “Dino,” but the makers of _The Flintstones_ would have sued. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/24 "2013-03-25T20:04:19Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > My peeve was when the girl says “It’s a Unix System! I know this!” > > Right…even if you discount thae fact that at the time of the movie there were 4 or 5 distros of Unix, the odds that she a) knew the one running the island, and b) knew the login and c) understood the GUI and d) understood the application where laughable. SGI workstations running Fusion on IRIX. The cost of which was something approaching several hundred thousand dollars, which I guess that girl’s insanely funded grade school also used. I also liked in that scene they’re trying to hold the door and grab at the shotgun. The girl is using her Unix skillz…what’s the boy doing? Yo kid - hand them that shotgun! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/25 "2013-03-25T20:12:53Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > If the stick was very wet (or maybe it doesn’t even have to be very wet), with high enough voltage you might still see a spark. [Here is a tree branch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ph-h7l_aM) conducting electricity and heating up as a result Wait for the spectacular finish. 🆒 As you note, with a moist enough branch and high enough voltage, sparks are a definite possibility. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/26 "2013-03-25T20:45:26Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > …Later we find out how they made the Dinosaurs but not how they resurrected a plant. I imagine resurrecting an extinct plant is much easier than resurrecting an extinct animal. > [@BigT](#): > > Well, the biggest thing is that the raptors shown weren’t velociraptors, and T-rex was not a scavenger…I don’t think the feather thing was certain yet at the time, so that can be forgiven. If you want to get technical _none_ of the creatures were saw were actualy dinosaurs; they were gentically engineered zoo animals cobbled together from dino & frog DNA. You can even explain away any discrepancies between them and real dinosaurs by the hybridization and the fact that the scientists were literly creating the theme park version of dinosaurs. It’s not hard to believe that factual accuracy would be of lesser priority then giving the paying public what they expect from popular culture. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/27 "2013-03-25T21:09:49Z")
In the scene where Newman gets killed by the tar-spitting dino, the can of Barbasol (which contains the stolen dino DNA), is shown getting buried in a mud flow. At the time, I thought “Oh, forshadowing! The writers are planning for the future.” But the can never resurfaces. Unless I missed it, does the stolen and lost DNA ever play a role in any of the plots of the sequels? If not, why was that shown so specifically? Also, it bothered me that after the velocirators devour that cow, they all go to lunch and are served delicious-looking sea-bass cooked by their Hollywood chef, but no one takes a bite as they begin arguing over ethics. Also, it would have been funnier if they were served steaks. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/28 "2013-03-25T21:31:19Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > In the scene where Newman gets killed by the tar-spitting dino, the can of Barbasol (which contains the stolen dino DNA), is shown getting buried in a mud flow. At the time, I thought “Oh, forshadowing! The writers are planning for the future.” But the can never resurfaces. Unless I missed it, does the stolen and lost DNA ever play a role in any of the plots of the sequels? If not, why was that shown so specifically? Pretty sure it was just to show you that Newman’s plan failed. I think the can would only keep the embryos refrigerated for so long. If they hadn’t shown it, we’d have people in this topic complaining that they never showed what happened to that can. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/29 "2013-03-25T21:36:30Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I imagine resurrecting an extinct plant is much easier than resurrecting an extinct animal. If we’re going to assume enough DNA can survive in the belly of a mosquito for them to make rampaging frogasaurs, it’s not too much of a stretch to say they found some seeds preserved in amber while they were at it. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/30 "2013-03-25T21:44:50Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Pretty sure it was just to show you that Newman’s plan failed. I think the can would only keep the embryos refrigerated for so long. If they hadn’t shown it, we’d have people in this topic complaining that they never showed what happened to that can. Ah, makes sense! I had not considered that. It shows the can and contents essentially getting destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/31 "2013-03-25T22:06:59Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > And…I see they’re re-releasing it in 3-D. > I have NO idea why. To make money, duh. I assume it will be awful 3D, though, much like any movie where they plop 3D on after the fact. But people will still go see it, so $$$ ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/32 "2013-03-25T22:20:56Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Actually, what bothered me about that scene is that they introduce a sick triceratops, give us a mystery as to why the triceratops gets sick every 6-8 weeks, and never give us the solution! I thought the triceratops was sick due to pregnancy, since the dinos were discovered to be unexpectedly breeding later in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/33 "2013-03-25T23:30:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **BigT** : > > Well, the biggest thing is that the raptors shown weren’t velociraptors, and T-rex was not a scavenger. Wait, _T. rex_ was an herbivore? When was that discovered? That sounds like big news, to me. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/34 "2013-03-26T00:18:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, _T. rex_ was an herbivore? When was that discovered? That sounds like big news, to me. Scavengers feed off dead animal carcasses, rather than making their own kills. They are still carnivores. The idea that _T. rex_ was a scavenger rather than a hunter was, IIRC, based on its tiny forelimbs. Forget the huge teeth and head and neck muscles and powerful legs; if it couldn’t grasp things, it couldn’t hunt … so went the reasoning. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/35 "2013-03-26T00:29:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Scavengers feed off dead animal carcasses, rather than making their own kills. They are still carnivores. > > The idea that _T. rex_ was a scavenger rather than a hunter was, IIRC, based on its tiny forelimbs. Forget the huge teeth and head and neck muscles and powerful legs; if it couldn’t grasp things, it couldn’t hunt … so went the reasoning. :rolleyes: Then somebody saw a shark and said “Hey, wait…” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/36 "2013-03-26T00:30:24Z")
Wait, are we talking about the movie “Jurassic Park,” directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum? The one where _we see the T-Rex hunting live animals?_ Why are people complaining that T-Rex was shown to be a scavenger? It wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/37 "2013-03-26T00:38:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Why are people complaining that T-Rex was shown to be a scavenger? It wasn’t. It was an idea that was being bandied about at the time by the new breed of revisionist paleontologists; personally, I always thought it was kind of silly. I read the book and saw the movie almost 20 years ago; as to whether or not Crichton or Spielberg made use of the theory, I don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/38 "2013-03-26T00:42:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I read the book and saw the movie almost 20 years ago; as to whether or not Crichton or Spielberg made use of the theory, I don’t recall. You don’t recall the scene where the rex is chasing after the speeding car? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/39 "2013-03-26T00:47:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It was an idea that was being bandied about at the time by the new breed of revisionist paleontologists; personally, I always thought it was kind of silly. > > I read the book and saw the movie almost 20 years ago; as to whether or not Crichton or Spielberg made use of the theory, I don’t recall. That wasn’t until 3 - when they created the new version(s) and created humungasour and made T-rex a pansy. In 2, T-Rex was still a predator - and had family skills - apparently, all it took was a wife and kids to cause T-Rex to have to go scavenging in the dump. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886/40 "2013-03-26T00:52:17Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > You don’t recall the scene where the rex is chasing after the speeding car? He would do that if he were a scavenger? :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-questions/653886.md?page=3)