Nearly half of Americans believe dinosaurs still exist
Some 20% of Americans think that dinosaurs became extinct as little as 100 years ago.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JUNE 3, 2021 14:06THE AGE of dinosaur bones: Not a scientific delusion.(photo credit: PIXABAY)
Many Americans still believe that dinosaurs roam the earth and that they are hidden away in a remote part of the world, according to a new study.The study - commissioned by Boat Rocker Studios who will be releasing a new show called "Dino Ranch" for preschoolers on Disney Junior - surveyed 2,000 adults and tested their knowledge about the prehistoric creatures.The findings showed that some 40% of the US population believes that dinosaurs died out between 2,000 and 10,000 years ago. Even though experts concluded long ago that they were wiped out over 66 million years ago. Around 20% of Americans believe that dinosaurs became extinct as little as 100 years ago.While it has been disproven scientifically, around 30% of adults believe that dinosaurs and humans walked on the earth at the same time and around one in four believe that dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time as elephants, although the report notes that elephants evolved around 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs.Some 54% of respondents claimed that dinosaurs only lived in Africa and North America, although paleontologists have found dinosaur remains across the planet.According to the report, adults can name around four species of dinosaur, despite the thousands being known to have existed in prehistoric times. As expected, the apex predator Tyrannosaurus rex was the one listed the most.A little over a third could name the Brontosaurus, made famous in the children's movie" A Land Before Time," however, 53% were unable to name the three-horned triceratops also made famous in the same movie.“It’s brilliant to see that shows like Dino Ranch are helping to drive a strong love of dinosaurs in kids’ today, and these magnificent creatures still have an audience,” says Matt Fernandes, creator of the preschool series, according to Study Finds. “Children love to hold special knowledge over adults and I would say that most children can educate their parents on a variety of intricate dinosaur facts."The idea that giants walked the earth millions of years ago sparks a child’s imagination, without the fear of ever running into one.”
