The extinction of all species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs has been taken for granted for generations of Americans; ask any kindergartner. But a recent survey of biology professors has revealed some doubt about pterosaur extinctions.

Not All Biology Professors Fight Modern Flying Dinosaurs

A recent survey of biology professors in the USA reveals not all of them are completely convinced that all species of pterosaurs became extinct by 65 million years ago. Although less than 2% of the professors replied to the survey, the response to the question of the possibility of modern living pterosaurs ranged from 0% to 5%, averaging 1.5%.

Jonathan Whitcomb, of Long Beach, California, administered the survey to biology professors to learn how many of them were aware of the research and expeditions that he and his associates had conducted, and how sure those professors were about extinction of all species of pterosaurs. He concluded that most biologists have no desire to become involved in the controversy.

One anonymous biology professor, however, made it clear that he hoped one species had survived: “I would LOVE it if there were living pterosaurs. That would simply be one of the coolest things ever, like finding a Coelacanth.”

Apparently not all mistakes on Wikipedia are minor. The allegorical novel The Alchemist, by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, has sold twenty-three million copies worldwide, not sixty-five million, as was recently proclaimed on Wikipedia. It exaggerated by forty-two million.

The Alchemist

. . . much of the story is about a shepherd boy’s travels far from his homeland; he returns to find his purpose fulfilled in his own country. In the nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America, by Jonathan Whitcomb, only a little is about the author’s travel to Papua New Guinea; he returns to find a possibility that his purpose may be fulfilled in his own country.

Book Applause Review of The Alchemist

The great majority of reviewers on Amazon.com give The Alchemist five out of five stars. Before quoting parts of some of the most favorable and unfavorable ones, I’ll relate my own experience. I did not feel transported into another world, which is what I enjoy about fantasies, but this allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho is meant to help transport readers along the journey of life in the real world, when they are not reading anything. Judging by the worldwide popularity of The Alchemist, I believe that it is succeeding.

The upcoming Hobbit movies will feature some familiar figures: Orlando Bloom will again play legolas; Sir Ian McKellen, Gandalf; and Elijah Wood, Frodo Baggins. Other interesting participants should include:

• Beorn – Mikael Persbrandt
• Bilbo Baggins – Martin Freeman
• Goblin King – Barry Humphries
• Thorin – Richard Armitage

The two films, in epic fantasy genre, directed by Peter Jackson, are an adaptation of the 1937 novel by J. R. R. Tolkien and are a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Regarding the history of the original novel The Lord of the Rings, one source has attributed the following to Tolkien: “But for the encouragement of CSL [C. S. Lewis], I do not think that I should ever have completed or offered for publication The Lord of the Rings.”

To quote from the opening of the book The Hobbit:

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle.”

Fifty years ago today, Yuri Gagarin, of the U.S.S.R., became the first human to be launched into space, electrifying the world and shocking the Soviet Union’s major competitor, the United States of America. The Russian pilot circled the earth in one orbit, in a Vostok spacecraft, to be precise the Vostok 3KA, which had flown in six unmanned test missions prior to the 1961 historic mission.

The Vostok 3KA was developed for two purposes: as a manned spacecraft and as a platform for spying. Without the spy camera, it would have failed to obtain support from the Communist party, for the Cold War had been warming up for years.

Yuri Gagarin died on 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight in a MiG-15UTI. The plane crashed near the town of Kirzhach. Although conspiracy theories have been suggested, it is generally believed to have been an accident, possibly partially from the use of outdated weather information.

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Child Care in Long Beach, California

Social interaction is important for children, but preschoolers need a safe place to learn early people-skills

Many web sites state that chocolate contains caffeine, albeit in small amounts. But a scientific study shows otherwise.

(xocoatl) The Biochemist, (Apr/May 1993, p 15) did chemical composition tests where they specifically distinguished between Caffeine and Theobromine. They found regularly up to 1.3% by weight Theobromine in Chocolate. They also found other pharmacologically active compounds including up to 2.20% Phenylethylamine up to 1.54% Tele- methylhistamine and occasionally up to 5.82% Serotonin. They could not detect any Caffeine at all.