Smarter than the Experts
Often the geniuses running things aren’t geniuses after all.
And, sometimes, it takes a know-it-all 11-year-old to point it out.
This became clear recently as Kenton Stufflebeam, a fifth-grade student from Michigan, showed up one of the most prestigious museums in the world, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
It seems the exhibit on prehistoric time has contained a mistake for a while. More than 25 years, in fact, which is longer than little Kenton has been alive. The display identifies the Precambrian, which is accurately labeled a supereon (or just a long-ass span of time) as an “era.”
Like a good little nerd, Kenton tattled on the exhibit’s creators by turning in a comment card during his winter visit to the museum. Smithsonian officials responded last month with an acknowledgment that he was absolutely correct.
If the experts were so wrong, for so long, about this, might these historical “corrections” be coming soon?
Brutus only figuratively stabbed Caesar in the back.
The Dark Ages, in truth, were quite sunny.
Van Halen never hired Gary Cherone; that was simply a bad collective dream we had.
George Bush has a PhD in English.
Fidel Castro actually moved incognito to the US in the 1970s, founded Microsoft, and has lived for decades as Bill Gates.
The Great Depression? Merely a bad day for one haberdasher in New York that got blown out of proportion.
The Beatles didn’t break up. They just recorded undercover as “ZZ Top” in the 1970s and 1980s.
Bill Clinton, in reality, said, “I, in fact, DID have sex with that woman…”
posted by David Amulet @ 6:04 PM
21 wisecracks
21 Comments:
And Elvis is still alive and selling herbal weight loss cures at a mall in Chattanooga...
I'm wondering if Elvis ever left the building.
Oops I see that Dr. John had already thought the same thing.
Where do I get one of those Lewinski buttons?
Dr. John: A good one, why didn't I think of that?
Angel: I guess the building he never left was a mall.
Barbara: I received it in an e-mail ... I suppose you could print the image out and put in on a lesser button!
Comon, everyone knows that Elvis left the building in a UFO.
As far as the infalibility of museums goes, I learned that lesson as a child. Turns out many of the dinosaur skeletons I was awed by were put together all wrong. I was crushed... figuratively, not literally.
I have a record by a band called Adrenalin OD called Crusing with Elvis in Bigfoot's UFO.
Wow, that button is hysterical.
It's good to see that the youth of today have some hope.
Cube: I trust museums about as much as I trust clowns. Needless to say, I'm not a big fan of the clown museum.
Bob: What a coincidence! next you'll tell us you have a record called Precambrian Ain't No Era, Bitches!.
Jeff: Score: Youth 1, Hilary 0.
Am I the only one that thinks "Kenton Stufflebeam" is one hell of a moniker? Geez Louise, they've almost pre-doomed that kid to geekdom ;-)
I'm with Lisa. That name is assured to get that kid ass whuppin's for years to come.
Does this mean that Pluto is still a planet?
Lisa: I thought it was a fake name until I saw the story in a couple of places. It still could be fiction, who knows.
PE: I'm OK with that. You have no idea how many people want to beat me up--I assume it's because of my name ...
Nessa: Pluto has been degraded again. It's now considered a suburb of Toledo.
Oh that picture cracks me up, that's awesome! And I laughed out loud at the George Bush statement there.
I saw this and I say good for the kid but what the hell is wrong with the thousands of other people who never spotted this!?
Duke coming to Mackey for the Big/ACC challenge next year perhaps???
Castro=Gates.
I shoulda known.
I have Precambrian Ain't No Era, Bitches! on my ebay wish list.
How about Al Gore won the 2000 Election..........wait, that did happen.
Phats: Actually, I've heard PhDs who spoke much worse. And I'd love to see a Duke-Purdue matchup in the challenge!
Tai: Who really knows what lies behind that beard?
Bob: Amazing what they come up with these days. Such literate rockers out there.
Mike: Not according to our system he didn't! That damn Constitution ... the winner of the election is the winner of the electoral college, after all, and not that pesky popular vote. I wonder if we'll change the Constitution to get rid of "the college" in our lifetimes.
I hear Benedict Arnold was wearing a wire.
Gyrobo: Long time, no see. Thanks for your traditional "why didn't I think of that?" comment!
Today I read where a 13-year old kid correctedd NASA's calculations of when Apophis, the killer asteroid, will hit earth. What is up with that?
it used to be that if you found a mistake in a book or encyclopedia, they gave you one, not sure if that applies to museums or blogs
eklqd <-- 'England' in baby talk
Post a Comment
<< Home