# My son found a "dinosaur" skull in the backyard **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563 "2012-03-12T17:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/1 "2012-03-12T17:32:02Z")
This Saturday the weather was great and my 4-year-old son (I like to call him The Boy) was playing in the backyard. I was in the basement finishing up a couple quick odd chores when I heard “Mommy, Daddy, come quick! Look at this!” By the time I got to the kitchen, the skull was on the counter and The Boy, his 10-year old sister, and my wife were standing there marveling at it. “It must be a dinosaur bone!” “Wow, isn’t that cool!” “And you found it in the backyard?” “Yeah!” My wife turned to me and mouthed “It’s a rat” so the kids couldn’t hear, I nodded and mouthed back “I know.” The kids went out the back door to look for more dinosaur bones and my wife said “You know that’s a rat right?” “Well, it might be a squirrel,” I replied. My wife reminded me of the rat that died in our backyard last fall and I remembered that awful smell. Still, it was very cool to see that look of wonder in The Boy’s face. What kind of an evil bastard could ever tell a kid that the dinosaur skull that he found in his backyard is really a rat? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/2 "2012-03-12T17:56:12Z")
Well, maybe you could talk him down from dinosaur to pre-historic mammal. Sabre-toothed rat, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/3 "2012-03-12T19:33:50Z")
Now’s the time to bury things out in the yard that they can dig up and find later. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/4 "2012-03-12T19:55:23Z")
You know he can build a [dinosaur _feeder_](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&cp=21&gs_id=3j&xhr=t&q=how+to+build+a+bird+feeder&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=how+to+build+a+bird+f&aq=0&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=9970e3d003ee7d92&biw=1280&bih=870) in the backyard and they’ll come. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/5 "2012-03-12T20:04:41Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > You know he can build a [dinosaur _feeder_](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&cp=21&gs_id=3j&xhr=t&q=how+to+build+a+bird+feeder&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=how+to+build+a+bird+f&aq=0&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=9970e3d003ee7d92&biw=1280&bih=870) in the backyard and they’ll come. 🙂 I was sure that would be a picture of a goat tied to a stake in the yard.:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-son-found-a-dinosaur-skull-in-the-backyard/615563/6 "2012-03-12T20:37:40Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I was sure that would be a picture of a goat tied to a stake in the yard.:eek:😃 No, that attracts newbie Dopers. And the Squid. And… well… _(portentionsly_…there are some things better left not spoken of openly.