The Machinery of Night

Posted 8:00 AM by Angie Schultz

HOT NAKED CHICKS OF THE MESOZOIC

Silent Running brings us this Yahoo picture of a naked chick. Scientists at the Hebrew University in Rehovot are developing featherless chickens. These are particularly useful in hot climates, because they don't require so much ventilation. It also cuts down on the problem of disposal of the feathers.

There's an amusing story on this at the New York Times, which includes another picture of the beasties. Note that while the Yahoo picture ran December 20, the NYT story is from back in May.

I really like that Yahoo picture. Nekkid chickens look a lot more like dinosaurs than the feathered ones do. Behold the noble beast! Look at that stern eye! Imagine a fearsome creature like this, the size of a tyrannosaurus. He stalks through the forest, his mighty footfalls shaking the earth. He stretches forth his neck, and emits the blood-chilling cry of his kind: Roo-er-roo-er-rooooo!

Later, he spies his prey, a feeding parasaurolophus. Swiftly he closes on the hapless herbivore. The parasaurolophus then makes its fatal mistake---it looks up at the approaching hunter...and dies laughing. (Which is saying something, if you've ever seen a parasaurolophus.) Another easy kill for the Cluckosaur! Roo-er-roo-er-rooooo!