Dinosaur go rrrrr, Daddy go huh?

There are many great questions in life, such as:

Is it Country Crossings or Country Crossing?

Why do clerks in department stores across the South say “jew-ry” instead of jewelry?

Is it possible, in words, to accurately express how much better “True Blood” is than “Twilight?”

These are all deep philosophical questions that one needs an online degree from the University of Phoenix to solve. I, alas, was taught by lowly humans instead of a computer, so I’ll stick with a less weighty subject for this week’s column: Why do kids like dinosaurs so much?

To give an example of how much the munchkin-folk are enamored with giant reptiles I’ll let you read an excerpt from my usual morning conversation with my son:

JC: Put the cat/shampoo/make-up/chainsaw/Weirding module down!

Kid: Dinosaur go rrrrrr!

JC: Yes, he most certainly does, but that doesn’t mean you should pick the cat up by his head.

Kid: Dinosaur, rrrrrrrr!

JC: So what does the dinosaur say?

Kid: Rrrrrrrr!

JC: And what does mommy say?

Kid: Rrrrrrrr!

As to the response to that last question, I will wisely make no comment, save to say that my son is a very perceptive child.

It’s safe to say that the vast majority of your under age 8 crowd, and probably at least one former U.S. president, really like dinosaurs. Television abounds with programs about them, and you can hardly go into any bookstore or toy shop without seeing a dinosaur toy or book up for sale.

For adults it may be a bit difficult to understand what it is about big dead lizards that’s so appealing. I’ve been accused on more than one occasion (OK, more than a thousand occasions) of being a bit childish myself, so if I can get the crayon out of my nose I’ll attempt to shed some light on the subject.

I suppose that when you’re a kid you don’t have many options, as there’s someone always bossing you around and preventing you from doing some really spectacularly awesome things you’d like to do such as finding out what the electric socket tastes like and using the couch or other furniture as gymnastic equipment. Dinosaurs are big and powerful, and can pretty much do what ever they want, especially to the cat. Throw in the fact that the dinosaur could probably eat those mean people who make kids do things like eat and bathe regularly and go to bed, being a giant reptile probably seems like a pretty sweet gig.

This, of course, leads us to the next great question, which is: What happened to the dinosaurs? Easy. The ancient cavemen, having grown tired of their children endlessly talking about them, went out one day and whacked them all in the head with their clubs, exterminating the lot of them. No meteors, diseases or Al Gore disaster necessary.

Next question?

Readers can go rrrr to Jim Cook at .