Blame it on the comet

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

By Mickey Z.
Online Journal Contributing Writer

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1058.shtml

<snip>

Sixty-five million years ago, a plucky little planet named Earth was braving the third period of the Mesozoic Age. The first period was Triassic; then came the Spielberg . . . I mean, Jurassic (and you can bet your Jurassic, it was far more amazing than any computer-generated version). The third period was none other than the Cretaceous.

Many scientists believe that during the Cretaceous Period, a colossal comet (or conceivably an asteroid) -- perhaps 10 kilometers across -- impacted upon what is now commonly accepted as the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico with the force of 100 million hydrogen bombs. It left behind a crater 112 miles wide and 3,000 feet deep.

The resulting tsunami and subsequent impact winter, so goes the theory, wiped out 50-80 percent of all plants and animals, including a flourishing species at the pinnacle of the food chain: Dinosaurs. The sudden absence of massive reptilian predators allowed for the eventual emergence of a little something I like to call "Homo Sapiens." (That's us, for those of you scoring at home.) In other words, if you agree that we humans have not exactly been the most responsible species, well, there's a giant comet to blame.

I know what some of you are thinking: Surely, Mickey Z., humans aren't as dangerous as a T. Rex, right? To them, I ask: In all the millions of years dinosaurs roamed this planet, did any of them feel the need to invent, say, nuclear weapons? Is there a single stegosaurus responsible for conducting secret nuclear experiments on its own species? Nope, it took humanity to think up an idea like this:...

[TransitJohn]

1. Hehehe

The geologist in me loves it!