Terrible Lizards: Dinosaur Statues of Questionable Accuracy

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Someone has painted the local dinosaur statue like Spiderman. ~2m tall.

The term dinosaur comes from the ancient Greek root words deinos, or “terrible,” and sauros, or “lizard.” As our understanding of these prehistoric creatures has become more refined over time, attempts to create life-size models of them have, more or less, increased in accuracy and lifelike quality. Of course, many of the thousands of dinosaur statues in the world have been made with an eye more toward entertainment than accuracy. For your viewing enjoyment, a collection of photographs from the past century of large-scale mock dinosaurs, constructed to varying degrees of accuracy and based on what was known at the time.

An aging version of a dinosaur at Dinosaur Land in White Post, Virginia #  Kathleen McGrath / Shutterstock

 

Harold's Auto Center, a Sinclair gas station on Route 19 in Spring Hill, Florida, photographed in 1979. The dinosaur species is indeterminate. #  John Margolies / Library of Congress

 

A large model inspired by a Tyrannosaurus rex bares its teeth at the Karpin Abentura park in the Karrantza valley, Spain, on July 26, 2014. #  Vincent West / Reuters

 

Original caption, March 17, 1922: "The Iguanadons which lived during the Wealden formation would, if living today, soon be extinct, for despite its dynamic size it could not hold its own against modern firearms. However its enormous size and strength would furnish ample sport for the modern huntsman." #  Bettmann / Getty

 

A concrete dinosaur statue stands next to a building destroyed by strong winds brought about at the height of Typhoon Bopha at a playground in New Bataan, southern Philippines, on December 9, 2012. #  Erik De Castro / Reuters

 

A man takes a photo of a friend beside dinosaur statues at Luneta Park in Manila on May 29, 2010. #  Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

 

A 60-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus appears behind a restaurant in Cabazon, California, on May 19, 2000. A. The dinosaur is one of two constructed by the late Claude K. Bell as roadside attractions west of Palm Springs. #  David McNew / Newsmakers / Getty

 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II appears to be watched as she visits a dinosaur exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum in York, England, on July 27, 2000. #  John Giles / AP

 

Original caption, July 27, 1931: "Step right up ladies and gentlemen, and take a peak at Dolores, the monster of the prehistoric ages who seems to be making a delicious meal of Thelma Corey. This 47-foot animal is all but alive, and appears at the new stage show at the Roxy Theatre, '50 Million Years Ago.' The animal virtually lives, breathes and snorts fire and carries people on his back." #  Bettmann / Getty

 

Visitors enter the mouth of a dinosaur model at Evolution Park in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta on January 1, 2003. #  Reuters

 

A walk-in Brontosaurus at a prehistoric museum in Cabazon, California, photographed in 1978 #  John Margolies / Library of Congress

 

A scene at Prachinburi Dinosaur Park in Thailand, photographed on January 6, 2018 #  Sangpeht Surat / Shutterstock

 

Original caption, February 1927: "A model of a prehistoric Icthyosaurus is dragged from its pond in the grounds of Crystal Palace, London, for its annual clean. The 'keeper' is being helped by some of the local police force." #  Fox Photos / Getty

 

The Bayville dinosaur, outside of Kim Carpeting and Linoleum in Bayville, New Jersey, photographed in 1984 #  John Margolies / Library of Congress

 

The "world's largest dinosaur" stands in Drumheller, Alberta. #  CC BY-SA Milorad Dimić

 

A boy rides a mechanical dinosaur at a park during Spring Festival in Beijing on January 30, 2009. #  Christina Hu / Reuters

 

Concrete Sinclair Oil dinosaurs sit on a hill above Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1945. #  Hans Wild / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty

 

Workmen carry parts of dinosaur models designed by Louis Paul Jonas for the New York World's Fair in 1963. #  Arthur Schatz / The LIFE Images Collection / Getty

 

A red-eyed dinosaur towers over the desert near the San Andreas Fault on July 1, 2006, in Cabazon, California. #  David McNew / Getty

 

Dinosaurs make an appearance during the closing ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 24, 2002. #  Brian Bahr / Getty

 

A dinosaur stands along Highway 40 in Utah, photographed in 1974 #  Steve Fitch / Library of Congress

 

An abandoned building with a dinosaur statue at an old park outside Ksar Ouled Debbab, Tunisia #  Slimstyl / Shutterstock

 

Original caption: "A General Electric motor and fan are installed inside a 25-foot-long model. This dinosaur is part of an exhibit for the Sinclair Refining Company at the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933." #  Schenectady Museum Association / Getty

 

A man takes a photograph of a fiberglass model of a dinosaur at the abandoned Plänterwald amusement park in Berlin on January 5, 2013. #  Reuters

 

A Brontosaurus awaits visitors at Dinosaur Park on Route 23 in Ossineke, Michigan, in 1988. #  John Margolies / Library of Congress

Source: www.theatlantic.com