Newly discovered dinosaur name honours Ghostbusters

The 75 million-year-old ankylosaur was named Zuul crurivastator for its resemblance to the Ghostbusters character Zuul and its powerful tail.

“This dinosaur’s short snout, long horns behind the eyes and on the cheeks, and gnarly face resemble Zuul, a fictional monster from the 1984 film Ghostbusters,” the Royal Ontario Museum said. The museum celebrated the unique name by inviting Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd to pose for photos with Zuul’s head. Its species name “crurivastator” means “destroyer of shins” and refers to its powerful sledgehammer-like tail.

“These powerful tail clubs were unique to ankylosaurine dinosaurs like Zuul, and could inflict serious damage on opponents, such as predatory theropods or maybe even other ankylosaurs competing for mates or territory,” the museum said.

Museum staff said Zuul’s skeleton, which was excavated from a quarry in Montana, is amazing well-preserved.

“The preservation of the fossil is truly remarkable. Not only is the skeleton almost completely intact, but large parts of the bony armour in the skin are still in its natural position,” David Evans of the Royal Ontario Museum told the Guardian.

Wanna buy pre-destroyed shoes?

Looks like the products in the market are going to get really weird with the passing of time. As first, it was a muddy jeans, and now destroyed shoes!

Yes, a pair of sneakers sold by upscale retailer Neiman Marcus is drawing attention both for the $1,425 price tag and the fact that they look like a dog ate them.

The “Future Destroyed High-Top Sneaker,” designed by Maison Margiela, retails for $1,425 on Neiman Marcus’ website, but the price tag is far from the most attention-grabbing part of the page — the sneakers themselves look like they’ve been destroyed by a dog.

The white sneakers have been partially shredded — or, as the product description puts it, they were subjected to ‘heavy distressing’ — to reveal the bright yellow stuffing.

The upscale shopper looking to downscale their look might seek to pair the pre-destroyed sneakers with a pair of $425 Nordstrom jeans that come pre-caked with mud.

Beach washed away years ago reappears

A beach washed away 33 years ago has suddenly reappeared. A freak tide dumped hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand back onto the shores of the Irish village of Dooagh on Achill Island, re-creating a stunning 300m long beach.

The beach vanished during spring storms of 1984 after waves washed away all the sand — leaving behind nothing but rock pools. With their beautiful beach washed away, many nearby hotels, guesthouses and cafes were forced to shut down.

But now miraculously the beach has returned after tonnes of sand were dumped on the beach over ten days in April. Locals are hoping it sticks around long enough for the beach to be given blue-flag status during next year’s inspection.

Sean Molloy, manager at Achill Tourism, said, “Before it disappeared, the beach had been there for as long as living memory, almost continuously, until 1984-85.”

He said the bulk of the sand was deposited in just over a week, leaving locals delighted. “It is an incredible example of the force and power of nature and how the coast can change in a matter of days,” he said.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 27th, 2017