Jaunted - AB

Massive Fireball Spotted Over Alberta And Saskatchewan

pbb — 2008-11-21T12:04:47-05:00

Hundreds of people in Western Canada Thursday night reported seeing a flaming object streak across the sky, variously describing it as green, yellow, purple and blue, brighter than a lightening strike and as loud as fireworks.

But before you get your UFO theories in order, know that aviation and astronomy experts say it was most likely a meteorite--though they can't say it was for certain. Says a professor at the University of Alberta:

What we probably saw was a fireball, which is the result of a rock coming into the atmosphere. The big question now is whether or not anything hit the ground.

While you might think a huge fireball would be easily tracked to its landing place, meteorites actually stop burning in the last few moments of their falls. That makes tracking the space rocks--if they don't burn up completely in the atmosphere--incredibly difficult: Fewer than 50 have ever been found in Canada.

[Photo: Groovycandies.com]

Jurassic Tours: Search For Your Own Badlands Dinosaur

markj — 2008-03-18T15:33:22-05:00

Did you hear? The Edmontosaurus named Dakota, a duckbilled dinosaur dug up in southwestern North Dakota in 2004, actually has skin. Eddie is one of the few mummified dinosaurs in the world, say the dino-expers, who are in the midst of chiseling the creature out of its 65-million-year-old rock tomb.

While the Edmontosaurus is currently secluded in North Dakota's state museum basement, you can go search for your own dino bones during a visit to Drumheller, the self proclaimed dinosaur capital of the world.

During your visit to Drumheller, a small town in Alberta Canada, you can take a 3 1/2 hour tour where your guide will tell you stories of downtown Drumheller and the history of the Badlands. You can also view and hike around the Hoodoos, walk across the Suspension Bridge, or search for dinosaurs in Horsethief Canyon.

You are also guaranteed to see the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the World's Largest Dinosaur on one of these Wild West Badlands Tours, though discovering your very own Albertosaurus is not only not guaranteed with the price of admission ($37.50), but also highly unlikely.

Map of Drumheller post jump.

And On The Eighth Day, God Created A Creationism Museum To Back Him Up

egw — 2007-05-29T15:46:49-05:00

Come one, come all, to see exactly when dinosaurs roamed the earth! A creationist group outside of Calgary has built a creationist museum displaying the Genesis-based view of history, plus some scrolls proving that England's King Henry VI is a direct descendant of Adam and Eve. With Biblical calculations giving the Earth's age at some 6,000 years old, the Big Valley Creation Science Museum is like a planetary facelift. It even has a front lawn full of fossils, to test our faith!

Lest we err in attributing this sort of judgment to be a Canadian trait, it's worth pointing out that the U.S. just opened its own creation museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Moreover, where Canadian creationists used placards, we hired the guy who made the Hulk roller coaster to make dioramas of children playing with dinosaurs -- for an estimated $27 million. And that's the difference between Canada and America.

[Photo: BVCSM.com]

Related Stories:
· Museums Travel [Jaunted]
· Museums Founder Insists Creation Backed By Science [Associated Press]

Supersized Food

johnrambow — 2006-02-03T11:35:01-05:00

Yowza. At right is a pic of the 4.5-pound Millet Monster, which the Restless Wheels restaurant in Alberta, Canada, is pushing. If you can eat the thing in an hour, you get $500 Canadian. If not, you pay $200, most of which goes to charity. These and other terrifying big-food items are being compiled at Supersized Meals, a site that'll either make you very hungry or put you off your feed entirely, depending on your temperament.

Related Stories:
· Big Texan Steak Ranch [Roadside America]
· Airline Meals [Official site]

Brad, Angelina and the Dinosaurs

sedona — 2005-08-24T08:44:02-05:00

Looks like Angelina and Billy Idol are out and about now that Brad's divorce date is finalized, doing things that everyone else does in the summer--like go to museums.

The pair visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada over the weekend with mohawked Maddox. Brad's in Calgary filming "The Assassination of Jesse James" so they hopped on over to the Tyrrell to check out its world-renown dinosaur bone and fossil collection. Apparently Maddox got some overpriced gift shop loot also.

We say the whole 'playing family' bit is almost too much to bear but, like a trainwreck, or course we can't avert our eyes...

Related Stories:
· Pitt, Jolie Visit Canada Dinosaur Exhibit [Yahoo]
· Royal Tyrrell Museum [Official Site]