{"id":2067,"date":"2018-12-09T11:58:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T16:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2018-12-09T12:00:48","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T17:00:48","slug":"who-stole-my-mastodont-tooth-a-visit-to-the-royal-ontario-museum-dec-8-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2067","title":{"rendered":"WHO STOLE MY MASTODONT TOOTH? (A visit to the Royal Ontario Museum Dec. 8, 2018)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/div>\n
WHO STOLE MY MASTODONT TOOTH?<\/div>\n
(Memories  while touring dinosaur exhibit)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mastodon\u202612,000 years old<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
WHY DID WE VISIT THE ROM ON DEC. 8, 2018?<\/div>\n
Answer:  We  wanted  to see my lost tooth\u2026the story will unfurl below<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mastodont Tooth\u202612,000 years  old<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec.  8, 2018<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHey Marjorie, we\u2019ve got two hours to kill, let\u2019s go to the ROM?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOne of the best dinosaur exhibits in the world.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAlso have a spider special somewhere in there.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat does the ROM look like to you?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSort of looks  like a  kind  of Eiffel Tower that has fallen over.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNow what is  your real reason for the visit?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMy lost MASTODON TOOTH\u2026I would like to see it again.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA tooth?  We are looking for a tooth?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou betcha!”<\/div>\n
\u201cHow much will it cost?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201c$35 for the two of us.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBetter be worthwhile.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThe dinosaur exhibit alone will be worth every penny\u2026.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLooks like a modernistic  Eiffel Tower has collapsed\u2026\u201dthat\u2019s the Royal Ontario Museum”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWe only have two hours\u2026let\u2019s find the TOOTH first.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy so important to you, Alan?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLong story but here is the short version.  In 1960 I was prospecting in the Yukon Territory and found Dublin Gulch where<\/div>\n
an American gold seeker was using hydraulic hoses to wash off the overburden to reach gold pay dust.  He had a slab of<\/div>\n
gold as his personal knuckle duster.  Gave me some gold dust which I mailed to you\u2026remember?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSparkle on black electric tape in the letter.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRight.  Well he also found the bones  and tusks  of Mastodonts.  Lots of them as Dublin Gulch was a 12,000 year old<\/div>\n
boneyard.  The tusks were hauled  up to his cabin along with ancient bones.  And a huge Mastodont  Tooth which he<\/div>\n
gave to me.  A treasure.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLost it\u2026right? \u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cStolen.  I used the tooth in my early history classes at Parkdale C. I.  Kept it in my cupboard.  One year it was there\u2026the<\/div>\n
next year it was gone.  Stolen.  What a great prop that was for my lessons on human origins in North America\u2026the Mastodonts <\/div>\n
walked  across the Land Bridge from Siberia to Alaska\u2026people followed\u2026thousands of years ago.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the short version?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSome day I will tell you the long version.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cMastodont teeth in jaw.  They had two sets and once they were ground  down the poor<\/div>\n
old Mastodonts starved to death.  I suppose that could happen to us if there were<\/div>\n
no dentists to do tooth implants.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThese ancient ivory Mastodon tusks have been carved into pieces  of art\u2026valuable.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSo we have  found the tooth\u2026Now What?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s tour the gallery\u2026see what we can.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, the sign says this ugly looking slug may have been one of our ancestors.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSpeaks  to the origin of life on earth.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOther weird creatures in those ancient seas \u2026 below.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cCreatures as beautiful as this bird have evolved\u202650 million of them according to the sign.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLots preserved in bottles somewhere in the bowels  of the ROM”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd here is the DODO BIRD\u2026probably our most famous extinct creature \u2026 has become a popular term today.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd here is an Arctic Fox with a Lemming in its mouth\u2026supposed  to be millions of Lemmings.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cEver see one?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNever\u2026worked in Alaska on the edge of the Bering Sea\u2026expected to see lemming but never did\u2026<\/div>\n
and only once did I catch side of a Kodiak Bear.  Wild  things are not easily found\u2026less and less so<\/div>\n
as human beings with guns move into their territories.  Sad.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWow\u2026look at them all\u2026so many\u2026bewildering\u2026Dinosaurs.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat does  Dinosaur mean?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTerrible Lizard\u2026term fits I think.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThat is the head of a huge armoured fish \u2026 so big and hungry that you would make a tasty meal\u2026could <\/div>\n
swallow and chomp you with ease.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLook at the bone yard\u2026reminds me of Dublin Gulch\u2026”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThe ROM has made a game of Dinosaur watching\u2026This is Tyranosaurus Rex\u2026big time predator 66 million years ago.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSign on the floor says STAND HERE\u2026take your picture and send it home by Email.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cKids and adults lined up \u2026 big kids first.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“Look down this gallery\u2026see the flying creature at the end\u2026bat like wings maybe 20 feet across\u2026”<\/div>\n
\u201cI can\u2019s see it Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou will later.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThe age of dinosaurs and other living things could not exist without the evolution of plants first.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDinosaur had to eat something, right?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYep\u2026the herbivorous dinosaurs ate a lot of farms..tons of them.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThen the predatory dinosaurs ate them\u2026right?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSurvival of fittest \u2026 or the more ghoulish comment that \u201cNature is RED IN<\/div>\n
TOOTH AND CLAW.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE skies  of earth some 65 million years ago were quite frightening as these huge Pterosaurs drifted on thermal  updrafts for miles and<\/div>\n
miles with hardly a beat of their wings.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLook at the mouth on that big one.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cUsed the mouth to shovel up fish as it flew close to the water.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHad teeth that pointed  inwards\u2026spikes..\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFish hooks.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHow could a dinosaur learn to fly?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI do not know.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBones must have been heavy\u2026too heavy for flight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cApparently the bones slowly evolved \u2026 became lighter and lighter\u2026then some time in the deep past a dinosaur said \u2018Look at me, I can fly\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny of these Pterosaurs around today?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope they all died in the Fifth Extinction 65 million years ago.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThen where did birds come from?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBirds evolved differently\u2026I have no quick  answer for that\u2026Do some work yourself\u2026find out.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLook at those long bony fingers on that big pterosaur.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNow imagine a huge piece of skin that stretched  from arm to foot\u2026so big that once airborne these<\/div>\n
things could drift on the wind with no need to flap much.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cGot to go now.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGift shop.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, we could buy this fake tiger for $1,000\u2026full size.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
LEAVING HE ROM\u2026FROM DEEP PAST TO THE PRESENT<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cChristmas Luncheon at Victoria College where we first met\u2026remember?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, you leaned  out the window of your residence while I was running laps<\/div>\n
to get ready for a football game.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou hollered\u2026\u2019Doing anything tonight?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI answered\u2026\u201dNot much\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cyou responded\u2026\u201dSee you tonight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd so began our love affair\u2026I am 80 now and you are a little younger.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell, we\u2019re not as old as the dinosaurs\u2026that\u2019s a comfort.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI wonder if our civilization, with its glass and aluminum towers, will last <\/div>\n
as long as those dinosaurs did?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cArt in paint and timber inside Victoria College.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWill any of this survive 12,000 years like the Mastodon Tooth?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThe wind is blowing icy air down from the Arctic, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cClimate change is happening\u2026takes  time\u2026the world is  getting warmer in slow steps\u2026DON\u2019T LET COOL AIR FOOL YOU.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA lot of people Talk about the  Sixth Extinction\u2026blame human beings for it\u2026we are changing the earth\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot always for the better.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cVisiting the ROM is a sobering experience.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThe footprint of a dinosaur.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe hand print of a human being.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201c65 million years apart.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go home.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust a thought\u2026I  wonder if the ROM stole my Mastodon Tooth.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI should have scratched  my name on the tooth.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan Skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec. 8, 2018<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What was the secret question I asked earlier?  HOW DID BIRDS  EVOLVE?<\/div>\n
BIRDS ARE NOT PTEROSAURS.  **Your job is to find the answer.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Post Script Below:  Changing Times and  survival<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHO STOLE MY MASTODONT TOOTH? (Memories  while touring dinosaur exhibit) Mastodon\u202612,000 years old WHY DID WE VISIT THE ROM ON DEC. 8, 2018? Answer:  We  wanted  to see my lost tooth\u2026the story will unfurl below Mastodont Tooth\u202612,000 years  old alan skeoch Dec.  8, 2018 \u201cHey Marjorie, we\u2019ve got two hours to kill, let\u2019s go to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}