A baby dragon, or a bad joke?

Electronic Telegraph ^ | 24/01/2004 | Roger Highfield, Science Editor

[aculeus]

A pickled "dragon" that looks as if it might once have flown around Hogwarts has been found in a garage in Oxfordshire.

Yesterday the baby dragon, in a sealed 30in jar, was in the office of Allistair Mitchell, who runs a marketing company in Oxford. He was asked to investigate by his friend, David Hart, from Sutton Courtenay, who discovered it.

A metal tin found with the dragon contained paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s. Mr Mitchell speculates that German scientists may have attempted to use the dragon to hoax their English counterparts in the 1890s, when rivalry between the countries was intense.

"At the time, scientists were the equivalent of today's pop stars. It would have been a great propaganda coup for the Germans if it had come off.

"I've shown the photos to someone from Oxford University and he thought it was amazing. Obviously he could not say if it was real and wanted to do a biopsy."

The documents suggest that the Natural History Museum turned the dragon away, possibly because they suspected it was a trick, and sent it to be destroyed. But it appears a porter intercepted the jar and took it home. The papers suggest the porter may have been Frederick Hart - David Hart's grandfather.

Mr Mitchell said: "The dragon is flawless, from the tiny teeth to the umbilical cord. It could be made from indiarubber, because Germany was the world's leading manufacturer of it at the time, or it could be made of wax. It has to be fake. No one has ever proved scientifically that dragons exist. But everyone who sees it immediately asks, 'Is it real?' "

Yesterday the Natural History Museum said that it was interested in following up the find.

The scientific journal Nature once carried a tongue-in-cheek article on the ecology of dragons written by Lord May, who became the science adviser to the Prime Minister and is now the president of the Royal Society.

From the reported sightings, Lord May concluded that dragons are "both omnivorous and voracious", with great variations in diet: one made do with two sheep every day while another, kept by Pope St Sylvester, consumed 6,000 people daily. Their lifespan seems to range between 1,000 and 10,000 years.

Some scientists believe that dragons, though the product of imagination, were inspired by the extraordinary creatures that once roamed the Earth. As J K Rowling's alter ego Hermione Granger once suggested, legends have a basis in fact.

[ArGee]

Isn't that one of Hillary's baby pictures?

Wait - nevermind. It's too cute for that.

Shalom.

[Aquinasfan]

Oh no. This has all the makings of the next "crop circles" phenomenon.

[New Horizon]

It could be made from indiarubber, because Germany was the world's leading manufacturer of it at the time, or it could be made of wax. It has to be fake.

X-Ray it and see if it has bones, organs, etc. Seems like a pretty simple way to eliminate "indiarubber or wax".

[Cultural Jihad]

A non-rense.com image:

[Indie]

X-Ray it and see if it has bones, organs, etc..

Reminds me of that really spooky flick (for its time) The Gargoyles. Spooked the heck out of me years after...LOL. Now I DARE them to "bring it on." :))

If it is real...BWA HA HA!...sorry....we will soon hear stories about it being "the spawn of satan" a la Porky's. :))

[Lurking Libertarian]

It is interesting to note that most cultures have stories of dragons or are familiar with the concept of such creatures.

Probably a result of finding dinosaur bones. They are quite close to the surface in many parts of the world.

[Graymatter]

>>or it could be made of wax.

It is obviously composed of strings and sealing wax, and other fancy stuff.

[aruanan]

It was something that happened with a hox gene.

Of course, it could also be the hoax gene.

[Heatseeker]

Nah, I'm thinking this is Chelsea's aborted fetus of a baby brother - it'd be important for Hillary to keep evidence of her support for abortion rights handy, in case it was ever questioned.

We'd have to take it out of the jar, revive it, and see if it spits fire to know for sure.

[zx2dragon]

Appears too small for a baby dragon. Probably just a drake. ;)

[BibChr]

O... K.... But why? Is rense.com evil?

[Cultural Jihad]

Websites are never evil, just sometimes unwelcome. ;-)

[Consort]

[BibChr]

Well, struck by a story crying out for a photo, I just innocently Googled my way to the first image I could find. I don't grok Rense.

Dan

[NeonKnight]

btt

[RightWhale]

Where is the fire and smoke generating organ? Is that just dyspepsia from gobbling maidens?

[RightOnline]

"Britain, the country of fakirs: Piltdown Man, Nessie, Crop Circles, Robert Fisk."

Leave Nessie and crop circles off of the "frauds" list. Far too many sightings of Nessie.........FAR too many incredibly complex "crop circles" all over the bloody planet to be a hoax.

[evets]

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? ...
Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
Job 41

[Sabertooth]

You gotta see this.

[Alouette]

Of course dragons are real. Lock & load!