Editing 2630: Shuttle Skeleton
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| + | {{incomplete|Created by a NEBULA DESERT HORSE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
The Space Shuttle was a reusable spacecraft system used by {{w|NASA}} from 1981 to 2011, after which it was decommissioned. In this comic, Randall suggests that the nature of the shuttle was in doubt or misunderstood until either an intact 'specimen' (of which there are four) had been dissected, or possibly the remains were reassembled from the two that were [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yibNEcn-4yQ lost in accidents]. | The Space Shuttle was a reusable spacecraft system used by {{w|NASA}} from 1981 to 2011, after which it was decommissioned. In this comic, Randall suggests that the nature of the shuttle was in doubt or misunderstood until either an intact 'specimen' (of which there are four) had been dissected, or possibly the remains were reassembled from the two that were [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yibNEcn-4yQ lost in accidents]. | ||
| − | With its shape, shown in the small image, and the tail fin, it looks a bit like a {{w|Osteichthyes|bony fish}} or {{w|Batoidea|ray}}. The joke is that after the shuttle was taken out of use, its skeleton was analyzed, and as shown in the comic, was found to have a skeleton typical of a mammal, with details such as the pentadactyl quadripedal bodyform hidden beneath its aerodynamic sweep, as well as having bones (i.e., not primarily cartilage). This morphology is similar to that possessed by a whale | + | With its shape, shown in the small image, and the tail fin, it looks a bit like a {{w|Osteichthyes|bony fish}} or {{w|Batoidea|ray}}. The joke is that after the shuttle was taken out of use, its skeleton was analyzed, and as shown in the comic, was found to have a skeleton typical of a mammal, with details such as the pentadactyl quadripedal bodyform hidden beneath its aerodynamic sweep, as well as having bones (i.e., not primarily cartilage). This morphology is similar to that possessed by a whale. Of course, the skeleton of a spacecraft is not made of bones, but rather of metal and other manufactured materials. {{Citation needed}} |
As the understanding of the natural world developed, many taxonomic misconceptions were overturned, or at least the scientific terminology was tightened. For instance, it was found that dolphins and whales were mammals, not fish.<sup>[''{{what if|156|cetacean needed}}'']</sup> Because of convergent evolution – the tendency for distantly-related species to adapt similarly to a given environment – it is often not easy to properly classify organisms merely by observing their exterior. For example, whales and fish have very similar body shapes, as did the extinct plesiosaurs, because life as a swimming vertebrate favors the same adaptations. In lieu of genetic analysis, or even of sufficient observation of them in the wild, the main progress in understanding differences among marine animals was often in dissecting the corpses of creatures found stranded or caught in nets, or reconstructing them from skeletal remains. Together with fossil evidence, insights were developed about their origins and differences from others' origins. | As the understanding of the natural world developed, many taxonomic misconceptions were overturned, or at least the scientific terminology was tightened. For instance, it was found that dolphins and whales were mammals, not fish.<sup>[''{{what if|156|cetacean needed}}'']</sup> Because of convergent evolution – the tendency for distantly-related species to adapt similarly to a given environment – it is often not easy to properly classify organisms merely by observing their exterior. For example, whales and fish have very similar body shapes, as did the extinct plesiosaurs, because life as a swimming vertebrate favors the same adaptations. In lieu of genetic analysis, or even of sufficient observation of them in the wild, the main progress in understanding differences among marine animals was often in dissecting the corpses of creatures found stranded or caught in nets, or reconstructing them from skeletal remains. Together with fossil evidence, insights were developed about their origins and differences from others' origins. | ||
| − | The title text conflates the now-extinct {{w|Steller's sea cow}}, an aquatic mammal related to manatees and named after explorer/zoologist Georg | + | The title text conflates the now-extinct {{w|Steller's sea cow}}, an aquatic mammal related to manatees and named after explorer/zoologist Georg Steller (also extinct), with the adjective "stellar", which means being of a star or stars, such as inter-stellar space or stellar masses. |
| − | One might expect that the idea for this comic may have come from the recent California | + | One might expect that the idea for this comic may have come from the recent California Supreme Court ruling that [https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-is-a-bumblebee-a-fish-when-a-california-court-says-so-11654611927?st=umo4uckleempt0e&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink bumblebees are considered fish] under a law which categorized several other invertebrates as part of a broad colloquial category of fish (as in "Fish and Game Department" designations.) However, given the short time between the ruling and the comic's release, it is likely that this was a coincidence. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
