A Simple Truth About
BISON ANTIQUUS OCCIDENTALIS
Were They Dinosaurs Or What?

Two hundred years ago, anywhere from 30 to 70 million bison, or buffalo, roamed free in North America. The aboriginal people who lived on the Great Plains relied on these wild mammals for food, clothing, and shelter. During the late 1800s, commercial hide hunters, settlers, and thrill seekers shot literally millions of bison. This killing spree brought the species to the verge of extinction and opened up the prairies for agriculture.

Would you like to own your own set of bison teeth? We have for sale, for a limited time, several ancient bison teeth. There are teeth available of various species ranging from bison bison bison to bison antiquus occidentalis. Prices range from $20 to $150 depending upon the age and rarity of the tooth. There are also a few carnivore teeth available for sale. These teeth start at $300. Note that these prices are in Canadian funds and do not include XPress Post shipping charges.

Here are some examples of what is available:

If you are interested in purchasing any items, please click here and I will e-mail you the entire list of what we are selling. Items will also be available through EBay.

We have several bones (including skulls) that will be assembled shortly by our crack team of forensic paleobotanists. These skeletons will be put on display at our museum and I'll post some pictures when they are complete. All of the bones have been collected from Manitoba sites and we have some surprises in store that I'm sure will shock you and may turn the scientific community on its ear! I can't give you any details now, but let me just mention a couple of words: hadrosaurus and australopithecus. 'Nuff said.

Short "Snappers"

• The first American pop group to tour the U.S.S.R. was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band during their 1977 concert tour.
• In Rome, the world's first paved streets were laid out in 170 B.C. The new streets were popular as they were functional in all types of weather and were easier to keep clean, but they amplified the city's noise level.
• Something that is said to be "therianthropic" is partly human and partly animal in form.
• If laid out in a straight line, the average adult's circulatory system would be nearly 60,000 miles long - enough to circle the Earth 2 and a half times.
• The only part of the human body that has no blood supply is the cornea. It takes its oxygen directly from the air.
• The biography of Thomas Crapper, the British sanitary engineer who invented the modern flush toilet in 1878, was called "Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper."
• Sedimentary rocks are used to make cement, glass, fertilizer, baking soda, laundry bleach, and aspirin.
• Film actor Bobby Watson, born 1888, a mild-mannered character player of Hollywood films, benefited during WWII from his uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler. Watson made a virtual career of portraying the Führer on the screen. Hitler’s fall precipitated a rapid decline in Watson’s career.
• Kramer made his "entrance" into Jerry Seinfeld's apartment 284 times.

As always, send me your suggestions for future columns on crang.com. Next time we'll delve deeper into the world of paleontology when crang.com goes on location with An Exposé of the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

© August 6, 2001