Dinosaurs That Wanted to Fly But Couldn't :(

Scientists are still trying to answer the intense question that is always on our minds: did the first birds flap their wings or did they glide majestically through the air? To answer our burning question, a group of researchers chose the simplest and most straightforward way of determining this. They first chose a dinosaur that could not actually fly, and that was not actually related to early fliers. This dinosaur is called Caudipteryx, and it was chosen because it had feathers and could run fast (gotta go fast). The scientists then had a very fun time pretending that it was actually made of springs with blocks of weights instead of limbs. The researchers thought, ‘Wow, this guy has some b o u n c y arms!’ This led them to believe that perhaps early fliers flapped their wings. But, being the very scientific scientists they were, their urge for knowledge was not yet quenched. Obviously, the best way to show proof that Caudipteryx had floppy little arms was to (1. Build a robot exactly like it using an estimated weight and then calculate the speeds that a Caudipteryx would run, and then make it run on a treadmill (2. Make fake wings for some ostriches and make them run on treadmills as well. They observed that their arms were flapping too! Amazing job, everyone! This gave them enough information for the researchers to confidently say that ‘maybe some early birds kind of flapped their wings a little bit but we're not really sure.’ I feel like these people just wanted to have a fun time. I'm not judging; considering the rate at which we are all plummeting towards mass extinction, I would like to watch ostriches and robots run on treadmills too. Overall, 10/10 science points, and I fully appreciate the effort.

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