Piltdown Superman

Before the predominance of profanity, people would sternly warn someone not to give them any lip. Basically it meant not to be disrespectful, but could also mean to stop talking, or other things. Or get mouthy. Tyrannosaurus rex has been portrayed as giving lip. It may be literal. Like so many other things in paleontology, further studies result in rethinking how critters looked and sometimes how they acted. After examining bones and teeth, some paleontologists think that T. rex may have had lips. T. rex with lips image generated with AI at Bing I told the AI art generator to give it human lips because reasons and stuff. Lizard lips to go with lizard hips... Interesting that it took decades for people to catch on to the idea of dinosaurs having lips, since lips are useful. It is an interesting development in paleontology, but there's no way of knowing if the idea is right — unless an exceptionally well-preserved fossil or mummified body was found. That may not be such a surprise th

A fundamental tenet of universal common descent evolution is that humans evolved from fish, and ultimately, from minerals. There had to be creatures evolving limbs from fins, and  Tiktaalik roseae got evolutionists all het up, but that was a failure . Other critters supposedly evolved from land back into the water, and the Thalattosuchia are considered candidates for that as well. Here we get into word salad, where they are referred to as marine crocodiles, but are not classified with crocodilia. Whatever. Thalats and such were crocodile relatives, then. Saltwater Crocodile, Flickr / Bernard Dupont ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Just like the original transition from water to land, there is no evidence of moving from land to water. Some evolutionists got a notion to use computed tomography, and they think they found a confirmation for their biases. Their article used the complex scientific principle of Making Things Up™ in lieu of evidence. Sure is a great deal of time, money, education, and more

My friend Hammond Suisse was talking to some of the hands from the Darwin Ranch in town, and there were a mite glum because of recent reports on fish lizards (ichthyosaurs). They knew that the narrative about evolving and re-evolving did not hold water. Now this. Despite claims of fundamentalist evolutionists, there are fossils out of sequence. Since there is no reasonable evidence for the evolution of those extinct marine lizards, one owlhoot came up with the idea that they evolved in bursts . Now there is an ichthyosaur fossil in the wrong place. Ichthyosaur, Copyright Expired Science Illustrations /  Heinrich Harder , 1916 Way up yonder, north of Norway, is an island called Spitsbergen. The source of the consternation was found there. No signs of evolution, this monster (some of these wet dinosaur cousins were huge ) was fully formed and in rocks that are dated by secularists as 250 million years old. That is too old for the evolutionary scenario, but right in keeping with the fact

Trilobites have long been an icon of evolution (Russell Watchtower at the Darwin Ranch has a big 3D picture of one on his wall), but trilobites do not support it. The more scientists study them, the more they learn things that testify of creation and oppose Darwinism. We saw before that trilobites had exceptional optics , and there is a new development: median eyes, common arthropods. It was long thought that trilobites did not have them. Very useful for sensing objects while critters are moving. This discovery is inconvenient for evolutionary dogma. Trilobite, US Dept / Interior, BLM (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) For a long time, it was believed that these critters didn't have the extra eye part. The reasons given for why the discovery was late are, well, plausible. Ocelli (median eyes) were put in place from the beginning by the Creator, and evolutionists cannot say they "emerged" or "developed" later. Oopsie! The propaganda mill was put

Back when Darwin roamed the earth, he called the ginkgo a living fossil. Some organisms with that moniker disappeared from the fossil record, then were found alive and well ( such as the coelacanth ). Others have remained essentially unchanged over alleged millions of years when compared to their fossils. A frequent rescuing device when something remains unchanged is stasis : It had no need to evolve. To be blunt, that is a stupid excuse because a lot can happen over all those years. No, one reason it did not change is because the earth is not as old as evolutionists claim. Gingko leaves in autumn, Wikimedia Commons /  Joe Schneid  ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Moving on from the living fossil aspect, people can easily find ginkgo biloba supplements in "natural" food stores and in vitamin sections of stores. Like with many health benefit claims, those not fully researched . Coordinated international research would be nice. Ginkgo is a large, hearty tree. It also has a large genome — bigge

Here is another instance where fossils were reexamined using modern technology, and this fish skull fossil provided some surprises for the secular science industry. It was found over an 'undred years ago, then in Manchester, England. There was not much to look at because there was only the small skull. The brain and other areas were preserved very well. This indicates that it was rapidly buried in sediment. Secular scientists are moving away from the slow burial for fossilization story because of things like this. Fish image from Clker clipart, modified at LunaPic Once again, evolutionary thinking needs to be revised because this fossil is extremely old (by secular schemes) but it is not "simple" like the narrative requires. As we have seen so many times before, they are attempting to turn evolutionary defeat (which includes evidence for the Genesis Flood and recent creation) into a victory. It gets difficult to take these jaspers seriously. Over a century ago, a fossil

Way, way down in the standard geologic column is the Ediacaran layer, which has been receiving special scrutiny from secular scientists. It is below the Cambrian, which had the fossil explosion . As mentioned in the previous post , pristine fossils are being discovered and scrutinized with amazing equipment. These critters that lived on the bottoms of oceans were so well-preserved, scientists are actually able to learn what they had for their last meals! The suppertime plant molecules examined should not really exist if the fossils truly were about half a billion years old. Diorama of the Ediacaran, WikiComm / Fossiladder13 ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) One evolutionist was so enraptured, she exclaimed that this was a connection to our roots. (No word if she lit a Darwin prayer candle at the time.) Evidence connecting the Ediacaran biota found in these select fossils to humans is unconvincing. That's because humans were created separately, not evolved, and everything was created recently. The

Fossils are everywhere, most of which are marine plants and critters. Many people find are unimpressive. The old story of how a fossil is formed is probably believed only by the most obstreperous secularist who is determined to keep the faith of deep time. To become a fossil, the organism needs to be rapidly buried. More and more fossils are being discovered that are pristine and reveal details of the creature. Obviously no fossils are forming today, but technology has greatly improved for analysis. Somehow, secularists insist that these things are very old. Snail on mushroom, Unsplash / Krzysztof Niewolny Study on it. Fossils are supposedly millions, even billions, of years old, but they are in fabulous condition. Delicate organisms such as snails have been fossilized (the shells having essentially the same minerals as those found today). Watch for rescuing devices to avoid evidence for the global Genesis Flood or recent creation. Don't get me started on soft tissues ... After an

When I was in town with Hammond Suisse and Roland Meadows, we encountered Rusty Swingset and Cliff Swallows. It was a mite surprising to the three of us to see both leaders of the Darwin Ranch at the same time. They were all a-twitter about a Microraptor. It is uncommon for a fossilized critter to have identifiable stomach contents, and this time it was a mammal foot. There is not much to go on to determine its eating habits, however, and there was a variety of foods. Microraptor, Flickr / Marcia O'Connor ( CC BY-NC 2.0 ), modified at photofunny , plus speech bubble Although it came from China, it is not a  fraud like  Archaeoraptor .  Microraptor  is a genus, but there are disputes among paleontologists. Some do not buy into the dino-bird thing. Also, evolutionists cannot account for the origin of feathers, let alone, flight feathers... Many factors to consider when they tell their tales. Something else to keep in mind is Archaeopteryx , which was a true bird despite futile atte

The hands at the Darwin Ranch were dispirited, and the baker Stevia Dolce told me she was feeling the mood. She even tried baking some pastries favored by the hands, hoping those might pep them up some, but with little effect. What could cause this? A misidentified fossil. It was supposedly from 550 million years ago, from the Precambrian rock strata. The original discovery caused something that seems to be happening quite frequently: Rewriting the geology textbooks. This time, regarding the Indian subcontinent. Not happening after all. Indoor beehive, Flickr / Lynne ( CC BY 2.0 ) The fossil was later identified as something made by bees, not the fossil of some ancient animal. It is modern, and it is a beehive impression. Stung by the news, secularists are still trying to present the cave in which it was found as very old. Such scientists seldom question their beliefs in deep time because they are working in accordance with their worldview. Constant evidence that should cause thinking

My prospector friend Stormie Waters and Ruby Slippers wanted a break from working on the upcoming nuptials for Ruby, so they stopped by my spread. We were talking about this and that, when what to our wondering eyes should appear but Rusty Swingset. Rusty is the foreman at the Darwin Ranch, and he even brought his lady friend Jacqueline Hyde (who was not herself again). Like I have said before, creationists and evolutionists can meet up, visit a spell, then shake hands and part friendly. They were in the area, and Rusty wanted some firearms advice. Velociraptor skeletal cast, WikiComm / Jens Lallensack ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) After we talked about that and cleaned his shootin' iron, discussions turned into just chin music. My ears pricked up like a cat's when Jacqueline idly mentioned that Rusty was helping evolutionary scientists give makeovers to dinosaurs. While paleontologists can learn a great deal from fossils and skeletal remains, there are serious limitations. Some fossils ar

Not so long ago, we discussed how secular scientists were baffled by a mass burial site over Nevada way for decades . Their latest effort at explaining what was observed was so bad, it was insulting to thinking people. What about this  Sinornithomimus dongi herd in Inner Mongolia? Some bones were discovered years ago. A team did some excellent detailed work at excavation. The evidence led into the base of a hill, and they retrieved over twenty-five of the critters. They were in the same rock layer, facing the same direction, and were well preserved. Sinornithomimus Scale, Wikimedia Commons / Slate Weasel (PD) Biblical creationists can easily explain what is observed through Genesis Flood models, including how they were trying to escape, the poses of the deceased, the fact that their conditions testifies to rapid burial, and even how this herd was all juveniles. As in other cases, secularists are locked into their worldviews, presupposing naturalism and not even considering the glob

Riekert Darkens of the Darwin Ranch is an evolutionary astrologer and part-time carnival worker who gives lectures in town. It is not a large town, but has supplies that ranchers and folks like me need. When someone is going to give a talk, people want the entertainment. Darkens tried to evosplain away a problem. It has long been a dogma of Darwinism that bird beaks evolved from fused upper beaks (they could not be moved). Then hinged beaks evolved, so that is what modern birds have. Emus, ostriches, and others that have fused upper beaks are deemed "primitive." Because evolution. Emu, RGBStock / CMC13 , edited at remove bg and Pixlr Darkens couldn't explain how a fossil of a bird with a hinged beak was discovered, and that it caused serious ripples throughout bird evolution. Again, speculations by evolutionists about the distant past based on their assumptions do not replace the truth about the Creator. Science is dynamic. What was considered incontrovertible for decade

As said before, Question Evolution Day (12 February) is multifaceted. In addition to speech and academic freedoms, it is an encouragement to get people to ride up on the hill to look at the bigger picture — and think . Folks cannot simply accept the assertions of scientists regarding historical science and origins. There should be a passel of red flags dropping when reading explanations about a group of ichthyosaurs that were fossilized. One flag is that secularists have been attempting to explain it for decades. The latest effort is...truly bizarre; that should be a red flag all by itself. Shastasaurus altispinus (ichthyosaur), WikiComm / Dmitry Bogdanov ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) On a quick side note, people group critters like these, mastodons, pterosaurs, and others with dinosaurs. It makes things easier when issuing postage stamps and the Bag-O-Plastic-Toy-Figures. And casual conversation. Ichthyosaurs came in various shapes and sizes, and there are numerous types. Some rivaled (and poss

When one mentions South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore may come to mind. More exciting to geologists are the Black Hills and Badlands. Millions of people flock to Badlands National Park  every year. It would definitely be a different kind of experience. Secular geologists have their slow 'n' gradual uniformitarian views of how the rock formations came to be, but their stories do not support scientific facts. Indeed, creation science models of the Genesis Flood present far better explanations of what is observed. Badlands formations with prairie grasses, NPS Photo / Troy Hunt (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Clay, mudstone, shale, all that good stuff is claimed by secular geologists to have been laid down over long periods of time — just look at the way it is now! Sure, some of that is happening nowadays, but this shows a mighty big flaw in their paradigm. Present processes are not a guarantee that things happened tin the same way all along. Come on, man, that's ma

There have been many instances on just this site alone where some interesting research was conducted, but the scientists ruined it because they threw in the Darwin imprimatur. That is just an assumption, but the secular science industry wants such references despite their irrelevance. Extremely interesting research was conducted on ammonite fossils, and also using information from their nearest living relatives. Models were made using 3D printing, which were loaded with electronics and made to swim in water. The results were quite interesting. Asteroceras obtusum (ammonite), Wikimedia Commons / Nobumichi Tamura ( CC BY 3.0 ) The work conducted by the scientists was the result of extremely careful planning and engineering . As in those other instances, they gave themselves praise for their work (despite assumptions that were made and many limitations), but they threw around glory to evolution. (No word if they contacted the Darwin Ranch near Deception Pass to have prayer candles of C.

Down New Mexico way, there is a place called White Sands National Park because it has, well, white sands in the Tularosa Basin. The story goes that during the Ice Age, Lake Otero was in the Tularosa Basin. It was a nice place with a wet climate. This area is famous for fossilized footprints, and the radiocarbon dating came up with an age of 22,000 years for one particular set from the Lake Otero Basin. Since rock cannot be Carbon-14 dated, seeds that were found in the area were subject to the analysis. It did not go well. Lake Otero image cropped from NPS (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Those seeds were not dated properly, and the radiocarbon atoms did not come from the ancient atmosphere but from old water. After recalculating, the age originally assigned had to be discarded. They were way  off. Unfortunately for secular scientists, their desires for deep time and the methodology used raise several serious questions. Maybe if they get that correlation with the ma

With improved technology and analytic skills, well-preserved fossils are discovered more frequently. Older fossils are also being reexamined with new technology. Yet another fossil from the Cambrian is causing consternation for evolutionary paleontologists. Sometimes it is a bit surprising that previously-studied fossils are reexamined, and certain details are studied that could easily be overlooked. Bones and other hard things — sure those are are expected to be fossilized, but when brains and nervous systems were involved, paleontologists are surprised. Neurons, Pixabay / Gerd Altmann Tiny worms in the Cambrian were found to have brains. Even secular scientists will admit that brains are incredibly complex things, but to have such soft things fossilize cannot happen with the slow 'n' gradual scenario. The critters had to be buried quickly, like all those other organisms in the Cambrian, during the Genesis Flood. Once again, a rewrite of textbooks on "how brains evolved&q

Believers in universal common have been known to patronizingly tell creationists and other evolution doubters to go to a natural history museum and learn. What people see are exhibits with tendentious usages of evidence, displays involving artistic license, and so on. Actual science, not so much. Remember, facts do not speak for themselves, but are interpreted according to worldviews , and then presented. Secularists presuppose evolution and make that their starting point. Unfortunately, many are so convinced that it is true (despite contradictory or nonexistent evidence), they play fast and loose with their presentations. Australopithecus afarensis , WikiComm /  Wolfgang Sauber ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Take a look at photos of  A. afarensis  (Lucy) models as well as other illustrations. I found some where a male specimen is gazing heavenward, as if contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Another exhibit has Lucy overjoyed that Alan arrived at the museum — or is that Steve? One model has

When biblical creationists discuss living fossils  and point out that critters remain unchanged over alleged millions of years, it is common for internet misotheists to wave off the problem and want us to be quiet. It bothered Papa Darwin his ownself, and he admitted that there is little to no difference between fossil forms and living counterparts. Remember, the fossil record is supposed to display the plentiful transitional forms in the evolutionary tree of life. One excuse evolutionists have for lack of changes is stasis : things did not change because they had no need. Ridiculous. Lack of change is hostile to evolution but is expected by creationists. Bivalve mollusk (white clam, in this case), HippoPx How scientists are able to tell different species of clams apart is beyond the ken of this child. A bivalve mollusk (clams are in that group) was discovered and determined to be one of those troublesome living fossils. Interestingly, many whales are filter feeders, gulping down huge