Bones ......a question ?

[beaconboy]

what about bones ?? we know bones last for 1000s of years as there are many full dinosaur exhibits around the globe ? .........soooooooo there were loads of dinosaurs that all died then every animal that ever lived in the past has died and the the millions upon millions of people in the uk who have died since the island was 1st inhabited by humans ....where are all the bones from these millions of animals and people !! ?? we should be sitting on piles of the bugger ! fucks my head up it does

[Mule]

Bones can last for millions of years in rare circumstances, generally they decay pretty quickly though. I think most of the dinosaur exhibits are actually replicas created from fossils etc.

[bt2k1]

There are probably more dead bodies in the ocean than living people on land.

Good question though....

[casio]

dinosaur bones that I think you're refering to aren't acctually bones in order for fossilization to happen the conditions in which the animal died needed to be perfect -like winning the lottery levels of luck would be needed for this to happen. As you mentioned its the bones that become fossils not the soft tissue which decomposed its only the hard parts that can become a stone replica like bones and teeth

When the animal dies and its bones get covered with sediment which later becomes sedimentary rock the bones lose their minerals from memory I think its calcium and hydroxyapatite they get replaced with minerals from the sediment and sand which turns to rock over time with the pressure from above and millions of years that it takes replace the organic matter

there a few differnt types of fossilization though like carbonization and petrification so it can vary as to how they are formed. Saying that though there are still actual organic bones out there but its incrediably unlikely to got out and find any,

[Ganty]

Brick Top's pigs ate them all.

[Mr Men]

What a strange thread, I can honestly say that I have not got a boner after reading it.

[super mike]

What a strange thread, I can honestly say that I have not got a boner after reading it.

I think it was a subtle way of Beaconboy bragging that his bones metaphorically last years.