What if there were no dinosaurs?

Imagine for a moment that all the dinosaurs are suddenly wiped out by disease or environmental catastrophe.
What would our lives be like? Can you even imagine? Would we survive?!
I think that without the dinosaurs, life as we know it today would be totally different.

Ahh, I'm sure all you young whippersnappers would go on without us just fine.

I think if people would just get conscious and just try to think about the whole earth, and not just themselves and how many Starbucks are available in walking distance and what kind of SUVs they want to drive, the world could be the kind of place where dinosaurs weren't threatened with extinction at any moment.

Imagine for a moment that all the dinosaurs are suddenly wiped out by disease or environmental catastrophe.
You mean, all of them? As opposed to, say, something that merely reduces the dino population to half its current level?
What would our lives be like? Can you even imagine? Would we survive?!
Well, we might miss Ernest...
I think that without the dinosaurs, life as we know it today would be totally different.
Well, driving will become safer when we don't have to worry about them wandering onto our roadways all the time. And it would be a relief not to have to clean stegosaurus poop out of the yard each time they wander through the neighborhood. (Some damn fool neighbor decided to feed the things, and now we can't get rid of them.) I'm sure there are many other effects I've overlooked.

Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
You mean, all of them? As opposed to, say, something that merely reduces the dino population to half its current level?
I was thinking of the largest ones, say 3 tonnes/10 metres long and upwards
Well, driving will become safer when we don't have to worry about them wandering onto our roadways all the time. And it would be a relief not to have to clean stegosaurus poop out of the yard each time they wander through the neighborhood...
Good points well made (btw, I'd suggest spraying your fence with a sulphur and charcoal solution - my gran swears by it to keep the Stegas at bay). However I'd certainly miss those 36lb dino-steaks at the Brachio Ranch.
The economy would suffer significantly too. Imagine if the whole SUD (Sports Utility Dinosaur) industry went belly-up? Plus there'd be major repercussions for S. America; without the guaranteed income from providing dinosaur fuel, people might start destroying the rainforests at an unsustainable rate (call me an old cynic, but would Bush have liberated Brazil if it didn't have those massive vegetation resources? I think not).

Originally posted by Michael Ernest:
I think if people would just get conscious and just try to think about the whole earth, and not just themselves and how many Starbucks are available in walking distance and what kind of SUVs they want to drive, the world could be the kind of place where dinosaurs weren't threatened with extinction at any moment.
Typical tree-hugging response - completely ignoring the real issues :roll:

What would we eat?

Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
What would we eat?

Wooly mammoths!

URGENT!!!
I am not sure where to post it, so i put it here:
There is this new technologie, called *Fire*. Someone heard of it yet?
-Rumours say that you need two stones to start!
-Can you give me more information about it?
-Any publications known?
All hints are highly appreciated
Thx cb

What does this "fire" taste like? Why would I want any? I seem to be fine without it. And if you make it with rocks, won't it taste like rocks? And what's wrong with just eating dinosours? They'll be around forever. As dude-in-charge I've decided that you're psychotic and I'm sending some people over to "help" you to not put rocks in your mouth. Wudda nut.

Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
What does this "fire" taste like? Why would I want any? I seem to be fine without it. And if you make it with rocks, won't it taste like rocks? And what's wrong with just eating dinosours? They'll be around forever. As dude-in-charge I've decided that you're psychotic and I'm sending some people over to "help" you to not put rocks in your mouth. Wudda nut.

Tss tss, always tries to destroy what he can't eat. This technophobic attiude is typical for you guys from Paleocene. Man, it's Eocene now.
Someone else heard about fire?
cb

Oppression! Oppression! The eocence guys are trying to oppress me!
Rock eaters!
They'll eat your children next!
They run around just stuffing anything in their mouths!
Getting drool on my stuff. Especially my rocks. Spreading germs everywhere. Next thing you know, they'll plot to wipe out all the dinosours just to force us to eat their damn rocks! That's probably why they're licking all the good rocks and getting their nasty germs on em. They want to have a corner on the market of rocks they haven't licked.
Bastards. We should kick em in the nuts.

I did a google search of fire but it didn't show anything. Googling dinosaurs includes lots of tasty recipes!

Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
Spreading germs everywhere

Exäktli, and zen we rule ze wörld, wu har har
Fire? Anyone?
cb

Originally posted by Chris Baron:

Exäktli, and zen we rule ze wörld, wu har har
Fire? Anyone?
cb

Now I get it. This is propoganda to get us to eat the rocks. You want us to eat the rocks so we die and then you move into our caves. You eocence types are sooooo ruuuuuude!

No i actually want you to heat the rocks. Soo.. you buy stones and then you move fire into your caves. Clear?

I afraid i have to invent fire myself... see you in.. (will it be pleistocene???) ..several years.
cb

Oh now that tears it. It's those people that have a different word for everything. It's like they're speaking some secret code. I think it's time to get everybody together with some torches and pitchforks. Make sure somebody puts some of that glowy red stuff on the ends of the torches. It's so pretty!

Fire is like water but hotter and not wet. You can't eat it because its used for cleaning.
I heard you need two rocks and a dinosaur to make one fire. You get the dinosaur to eat the rocks (this is easy; depending on the dinosaur, put the rocks in a cow or tree).
Next, agitate dinosaur to create friction between the rocks and to churn the fermenting contents of the dino's stomach. To agitate the dinosaur, simply chase it around with a pointy stick. The churning will create an excess of gasses which in turn will cause the dino to burp up a fire!! (the rocks banging together turn the gasses into fire, so I'm told. Amazing!)
There's a knack to this apparently so you might need to try it a few times. My friend tried it one night after getting bored with dino tipping, but that particular Brachiosaurus just exploded.

Originally posted by Thomas Paul:
Googling dinosaurs includes lots of tasty recipes!

Yeah, but all these dishes are mostly with raw dino meat.
One is quite interesting though: Sundried Dino Carpaccio on Rucola.
With Baron's Easy-Fire© it's possible now to have WARM meals !!!
Here's a recipe:
Warm'n'Crispy Pronto (4 Pers.)
-Baron's Easy-Fire©
-1 medium sized hung Prontosaurus
-1 small circle shaped Forest
-2lbs Blueberries
Wrap the pronto in aluminium foil and put it into the forest.
Light several fires[1] with Baron's Easy-Fire© all around the forest's border.
Wait until the forest has burned down entirely.
Unwrap the Roast© and serve it warm with the blueberries. Enjoy.
[1] Fire is like water but hotter and not wet Richard Hawkes

@Richard: Thanks!!! Your research brought me to an innovative, simplified way of making fire. If the business runs well, i'll honour your effort. How about a nice circle of monoliths on your southern meadow?
cb
[ September 26, 2003: Message edited by: Chris Baron ]

Hi everyone,
Yesterday I had an epiphany that the Earth is in fact round instead of flat.
<Looks round>
<Meh runs>

Originally posted by Mark Fletcher:
Hi everyone, Yesterday I had an epiphany that the Earth is in fact round instead of flat.

An epiphany? Surely you mean an hallucination!

Mmmmmm .... Epiphany .... Which cave is she in these days? I didn't understand the rest of your statement.

I read it again. I think I figured it out. Epiphany has some really wacky ideas doesn't she.
But look, you're talking about the earth. You mean dirt right? And dirt being... round? flat? What the hell are you talking about? Look Epiphany is cute and all, but when she babbels about stuff just nod your head. You don't have to go and repeat everything she says.