Re: Draconology, the science of dragons -- connections gateway

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Date Posted: 12:53:08 05/13/07 Sun
Author: Sean
Subject: Re: Draconology, the science of dragons
In reply to: pgi 's message, "Draconology, the science of dragons" on 11:17:32 07/15/05 Fri

>Draconology, the science of dragons, is a dying
>specialty - literally. It's one practitioner, Dr.
>Volodimir Kapusianyk, 98, currently resides in a
>nursing home in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
>
>For Several years, he has been trying to write the
>definitive draconology textbook, but ill health has
>kept from completing more than the foreword. In the
>hope that someone will take up the torch of
>draconology from his falling hand, Dr. Kapusianyk has
>asked to InQuest magazine to print his foreword,
>reasoning that their readers must include many whom
>already interested in dragons.
>
>I take personal initiative to put this on my page,
>knowing that on Internet there are many dragon lovers
>that, maybe some, will continue his work.
>
>
>-------------------------------------------------------
>-------------------------
>
>Dragons: Our Fiery Friends
>
>By Volodimir Kapusianyk, Ph.D.
>Foreword
>
>Relegated to myth by many cultures, dragons did, in
>fact, exist - but now, alas, are extinct, the last
>having died in captivity in 1911 in a small traveling
>zoo in Nebraska, where, as a teenager, I saw it. It
>was pitiful creature, scrawny, barely 8 feet long, not
>a wisp of smoke coming from it, and, greatest
>indignity of all, mistakenly labeled a "Rare Winged
>Garter Snake." But I knew better, and on that fateful
>day chose to devote my life to the study of these
>magnificent creatures.
>
>Many critics deride draconology, claiming a creature
>like a dragon, apparently reptilian yet able to fly
>and breath fire, is scientifically impossible.
>
>The key, however, is that phrase "apparently
>reptilian." Yes, dragons looked reptilian - but they
>were not. They were, in fact, a phylum unto
>themselves, like no other creature that ever walked
>the Earth.
>
>This textbook contains all I have learned or theorized
>about dragons. Chapter 2, for example, deals with
>flight. To fly, a creature must generate enough lift
>to counteract the force of gravity exerts on its mass.
>To fly really well, you must maximize lift and
>minimize mass. Dragons' huge wings generated plenty of
>lift, and they minimized their mass in two ways.
>
>First, their bones, like birds', were almost hollow.
>Second, they were made, not of the usual mixture of
>calcium and other minerals, but from long chain of
>hydrocarbon: a natural form of very strong, very light
>plastic which also formed their incredibly tough
>scales (Chapter 9).
>
>In fact, their whole bodies were awash in
>hydrocarbons. They had large internal bladders filled
>with methane, a natural byproduct of digestion in
>human, and more so in dragons. Methane is lighter than
>air, so this bladder, like a giant internal balloon,
>reduced mass (and enhanced flight) even more.
>
>Methane is also flammable, and dragons evolved a way
>to spew flaming methane for defensive purposes
>(Chapter 14). Study of dragon fossils (Chapter 5)
>reveals that dragons had a specialized organ in the
>roof of their mouth in which a jagged nugget of iron,
>coalesced from iron in the dragon's bloodstream, hung
>suspended with pieces of flint, which the dragon
>ingested as needed. When the dragon exhaled methane,
>the iron and flint tumbled around, generating sparks,
>which ignited the gas.
>
>Dragons' peculiar body chemistry also made their blood
>highly corrosive (Chapter 10). Essentially, they were
>walking chemical factories, their bloodstream filled
>with toxic waste.
>
>Finally, in Chapter 21, we will examine in detail how
>dragons' growing dependence for food on virgins
>provided by local villagers made them fat, lazy and
>easy prey for glory-hungry knights, who drove them
>into a long, slow decline that ended at last with the
>death of that poor, bedraggled specimen in Nebraska.
>
>Draconology is a difficult but rewarding field of
>study. I hope you enjoy your journey through it
Ive already been studying dragons for years now but i have been unable to go very far in the world i dont entirely agree with him on saying they are extinct they may very well still be alive and waiting for people to find them with a desire of peace

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