Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 9

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.  Let's get on with our question.

 

Fossil remains have been found in China, purportedly from 100 million years ago.  What are these fossils? 

Molly?

 

Giant squirrels?

 

 

 

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  Cyndi?

 

 

 

Giant people.  You know, like really big.

  Like, dinosaur big?

 

 

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  Fluffy?
 

 

 

 

 Bird fossils with so called feathers on the legs. 

Now some scientists claim birds once had 4 wings.

 

 

 

Hostmaster:  correct.

 

 

 That's bogus.  I saw the pictures of these birds. 

If, and that's a big if, they are feathers, who says they are for flight? 

The structure of the legs are like legs for walking, not wings for flying. 

The four wing theory is weak.

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking as a bird, if there were 4 wings they wouldn't

 be at either end like arms and legs but 2 pair,

 side by side like a dragonfly. 

By the way, this is the End of Round 9.

 

 

 

 

 

That configuration does make more sense aerodynamically. 

Furthermore, the whole conjecture that these vague wisps

 on the fossil are feathers at all, stretches credulity. 

 

 

 

 

 

 If they are feathers, surely there are reasons

 for leg feathers other than for an awkward pair of wings.

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely.  Leg plumage is often present for mating rituals. 

Some birds have feathery legs that protect them from

 briers and other environmental unpleasantness.

 

 

 

 

 

Feathers are pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah.  Some scientists noticed that the fossil bird

legs can't flap like wings.  So they suggest

 the feathers were  rigid and worked

like a parasail.

 

 

 

 

Like a flying squirrel!  Wait.  The trouble is,

 the parasail set up on the squirrel is a flap of skin

 like stretched in the armpit.  How could a bird

 have such feathers in his armpit?

 

 

 

 

How indeed.  Then some scientists suggest

 that the feathers on the legs are like the tail on a plane. 

 I want to know how in the heck the

 bird would hold his legs for that to work.

 

 

 

 

 

The tail idea is bizarre. 

 He'd have two tails that are legs and what?

 A regular tail too?

 

 

 

 

 

This interpretation of feathers and wings and whatnot,

sounds to me like scientists making stuff up to fit a theory- 

the way they did with Piltdown Man. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 9

Fluffy/Molly  5

Bryan/Cyndi  4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I hope next time the question is about

movies or fashion.  Science is boring.