On this day in 1990, fossil hunters in South Dakota uncovered the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever found.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that proves you're never too old or dead
to make history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're digging
into the story of one of the most important paleontological
(00:21):
finds of all time, the day when the true shape
of Tyrannosaurus rex finally came into focus. The day was
August twelfth, nine Fossil hunters in South Dakota uncovered the
largest and most complete t rex skeleton ever found. That morning,
(00:46):
paleontologist Sue Hendrickson had noticed three large bones sticking out
of a cliff in South Dakota. Further excavation revealed the
bones belonged to a nearly complete skeleton of a thirteen
footall tarra an Asaurus rex. The find was officially cataloged
as Specimen f m n h PR two zero one eight,
(01:09):
but since that's a lousy name for a dinosaur, everyone
just started calling her Sue, in honor of the woman
who found her. To be clear, scientists still don't know
whether Sue the t rex was a male or a female,
but as Johnny Cash fans know, the name Sue can
sometimes go either way. Some girl with giggle and I'd
(01:30):
get rid of some god laft night must as said.
I'll take it. Life made easy for a boy named Sue.
In an interesting twist, we actually have a flat tire
to thank for Sue's discovery. Hendrickson and the rest of
her team had spent all summer searching for fossils in
the mountains just north of Faith, South Dakota. By mid August,
(01:53):
the team had uncovered several Edmontasaurus bones and was ready
to bring the dig to a close. However, on the
morning of August twelve, their truck got a flat tire.
Sue Hendrickson used the delay as an opportunity to take
her dog for a walk and to explore some nearby
cliffs that the team hadn't gotten to yet. A short
(02:14):
time later, she spotted several large fossilized vertebrae jutting out
of the side of a cliff. The bones were a
deep brown color, the same shade as the iron and
other minerals in which they'd been buried for more than
sixty million years. Hendrickson reported her discovery to the rest
of her team, all of whom were there on behalf
(02:35):
of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The president
of that institute, Peter Larson, identified the protruding bones as
those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Sue Hendrickson theorized that
the rest of the skeleton could be nearby. Thrilled at
the prospect of unearthing a complete t rex, the six
(02:56):
person team decided to stick around a little longer. In
the end, it took seventeen days to carefully extract the
rest of the skeleton from the ground. The whole team
was amazed at the breadth of their discovery. Out of
approximately three hundred and eighty known bones in a t
rex skeleton, they had found two hundred and fifty, or
(03:17):
around nine. It was the most complete example of the
species ever found, and as of the time of recording,
it still is. Unfortunately, the rarity of Soothe the t
Rex immediately sparked a messy dispute over who actually owned
her bones. The Black Hills Institute had paid five thousand
(03:38):
dollars for the right to search for and excavate fossils
on the land of Maurice Williams. However, when news of
their big discovery got out, Williams insisted that the fee
was only for the right to look for, dig out
and clean fossils, not to keep them. That turned out
to be the first of many complications surrounding Sue's ownership.
(04:02):
It came to light that Williams was a member of
the Sioux, and the rest of his people claimed that
the bones rightfully belonged to all of them. Soon after,
it was also revealed that the U. S Department of
the Interior had been holding William's property in trust for
tax relief purposes. That essentially meant the land that Sue
(04:23):
was found on belonged to the US government, and no
one at the Black Hills Institute had asked the government
for permission to dig there. As a result, the FBI
and the South Dakota National Guard raided the Black Hills
Institute and confiscated the t Rex skeleton for safe keeping.
After years of legal battles in federal court, it was
(04:45):
eventually decided that the fossil did belong to Maurice Williams.
In Williams decided he really didn't have much use for
two hundred and fifty t Rex bones, so he put
the skeleton up for auction at Southby's. Chicago's Field Museum
of Natural History desperately wanted the recks for it's already
(05:05):
impressive collection of fossils, but one of the best preserved
dinosaur skeletons ever found was bound to command top dollar
at auction. To lessen the financial sting, the Field Museum
pulled its money with California State University, Walt Disney Parks
and Resorts, McDonald's, and a host of individual donors. Through
(05:27):
that combined effort, the Field Museum was able to secure
the winning bid, a whopping eight million, three hundred sixty
two thousand and five hundred dollars. As the proud new
owner of the world's biggest t Rex, the Field Museum
immediately set to work constructing a new research laboratory specifically
(05:48):
for the preservation of Sue. Museum guests got to watch
the meticulous process through a glass wall that looked into
the lab. Altogether, it took more than twenty five thousand
hours to fully, clean, restore, and assemble Sue the t Rex.
Along the way, multiple copies were made of each bone,
(06:08):
and for the ones that were missing, plastic models were
created so that the full skeleton could be assembled and
If you're wondering what Disney and McDonald's got for their
generous donations, well there's your answer. One complete set of
the bones was given to the Burger Chain to use
in a traveling tour the company was hosting, and another
(06:29):
copy of the skeleton was given to Disney Parks and Resorts.
You can still see that one for yourself in the
Dino Land USA section of its Animal Kingdom theme park
in Florida. As for the real deal, Sue, she first
went on display at the Field Museum in May of
two thousand. Fully assembled and posed in a natural hunched
(06:51):
over stance, the t rex measures more than forty two
ft long and thirteen feet tall at the hip. This
means that out of the third ety or so t
rex specimens found to date, Sue is the largest of
them all. She's one of the most long lived, too,
having died at the age of about twenty eight, with
the max lifespan for a t rex clocking in at
(07:13):
thirty five. Scientists were able to approximate Sue's age because
dinosaur bones have growth rings similar to trees. Despite her
relative old age and some signs of injury to her bones,
scientists actually think Sue died from disease rather than from
natural causes or a fight with a rival. Visitors to
(07:35):
the Field Museum may be puzzled to learn that Sue
actually has two heads on display. The one attached to
the rest of her skeleton is actually made of plastic,
as are several of her vertebrae, parts of her rib
cage and arms, and her left foot. Most of those
bones were never found at the dig site in South Dakota,
(07:56):
but in the case of Sue's skull, the real one
was just way too heavy to place on the skeletal neck. Instead,
the six hundred pound original sits in a nearby display
case where it can be appreciated up close from all angles.
Oh and if you're wondering how Sue kept her head
upright when she was alive, keep in mind that fossilization
(08:17):
has made the skull much heavier than when it was
just bone. A mostly complete t Rex skeleton isn't just
a point of pride for paleontologists. It's also a way
for them and us to learn more about the species biology, growth,
and behavior. For instance, the size of the hollow cavities
and Sue's well preserved skull helped scientists determine that the
(08:40):
t rex had an amazing sense of smell. Sue was
also the first t rex skeleton to be discovered with
an intact wishbone, a crucial piece of evidence for the
evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds. So if you ever
find yourself in the Windy City and you happen to
be a fan of dinosaurs, as all good hearted people are,
(09:01):
then be sure to visit the Field Museum and pay
your respects to the Terrible Lizard King herself a t
Rex named Sue. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now
know a little more about dino history today than you
did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by
following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d
(09:25):
i HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions,
you can always send them my way at this day
at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays
for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll
see you back here again soon for another day in
History class.
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that proves you're never too old or dead
to make history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're digging
into the story of one of the most important paleontological
(00:21):
finds of all time, the day when the true shape
of Tyrannosaurus rex finally came into focus. The day was
August twelfth, nine Fossil hunters in South Dakota uncovered the
largest and most complete t rex skeleton ever found. That morning,
(00:46):
paleontologist Sue Hendrickson had noticed three large bones sticking out
of a cliff in South Dakota. Further excavation revealed the
bones belonged to a nearly complete skeleton of a thirteen
footall tarra an Asaurus rex. The find was officially cataloged
as Specimen f m n h PR two zero one eight,
(01:09):
but since that's a lousy name for a dinosaur, everyone
just started calling her Sue, in honor of the woman
who found her. To be clear, scientists still don't know
whether Sue the t rex was a male or a female,
but as Johnny Cash fans know, the name Sue can
sometimes go either way. Some girl with giggle and I'd
(01:30):
get rid of some god laft night must as said.
I'll take it. Life made easy for a boy named Sue.
In an interesting twist, we actually have a flat tire
to thank for Sue's discovery. Hendrickson and the rest of
her team had spent all summer searching for fossils in
the mountains just north of Faith, South Dakota. By mid August,
(01:53):
the team had uncovered several Edmontasaurus bones and was ready
to bring the dig to a close. However, on the
morning of August twelve, their truck got a flat tire.
Sue Hendrickson used the delay as an opportunity to take
her dog for a walk and to explore some nearby
cliffs that the team hadn't gotten to yet. A short
(02:14):
time later, she spotted several large fossilized vertebrae jutting out
of the side of a cliff. The bones were a
deep brown color, the same shade as the iron and
other minerals in which they'd been buried for more than
sixty million years. Hendrickson reported her discovery to the rest
of her team, all of whom were there on behalf
(02:35):
of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The president
of that institute, Peter Larson, identified the protruding bones as
those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Sue Hendrickson theorized that
the rest of the skeleton could be nearby. Thrilled at
the prospect of unearthing a complete t rex, the six
(02:56):
person team decided to stick around a little longer. In
the end, it took seventeen days to carefully extract the
rest of the skeleton from the ground. The whole team
was amazed at the breadth of their discovery. Out of
approximately three hundred and eighty known bones in a t
rex skeleton, they had found two hundred and fifty, or
(03:17):
around nine. It was the most complete example of the
species ever found, and as of the time of recording,
it still is. Unfortunately, the rarity of Soothe the t
Rex immediately sparked a messy dispute over who actually owned
her bones. The Black Hills Institute had paid five thousand
(03:38):
dollars for the right to search for and excavate fossils
on the land of Maurice Williams. However, when news of
their big discovery got out, Williams insisted that the fee
was only for the right to look for, dig out
and clean fossils, not to keep them. That turned out
to be the first of many complications surrounding Sue's ownership.
(04:02):
It came to light that Williams was a member of
the Sioux, and the rest of his people claimed that
the bones rightfully belonged to all of them. Soon after,
it was also revealed that the U. S Department of
the Interior had been holding William's property in trust for
tax relief purposes. That essentially meant the land that Sue
(04:23):
was found on belonged to the US government, and no
one at the Black Hills Institute had asked the government
for permission to dig there. As a result, the FBI
and the South Dakota National Guard raided the Black Hills
Institute and confiscated the t Rex skeleton for safe keeping.
After years of legal battles in federal court, it was
(04:45):
eventually decided that the fossil did belong to Maurice Williams.
In Williams decided he really didn't have much use for
two hundred and fifty t Rex bones, so he put
the skeleton up for auction at Southby's. Chicago's Field Museum
of Natural History desperately wanted the recks for it's already
(05:05):
impressive collection of fossils, but one of the best preserved
dinosaur skeletons ever found was bound to command top dollar
at auction. To lessen the financial sting, the Field Museum
pulled its money with California State University, Walt Disney Parks
and Resorts, McDonald's, and a host of individual donors. Through
(05:27):
that combined effort, the Field Museum was able to secure
the winning bid, a whopping eight million, three hundred sixty
two thousand and five hundred dollars. As the proud new
owner of the world's biggest t Rex, the Field Museum
immediately set to work constructing a new research laboratory specifically
(05:48):
for the preservation of Sue. Museum guests got to watch
the meticulous process through a glass wall that looked into
the lab. Altogether, it took more than twenty five thousand
hours to fully, clean, restore, and assemble Sue the t Rex.
Along the way, multiple copies were made of each bone,
(06:08):
and for the ones that were missing, plastic models were
created so that the full skeleton could be assembled and
If you're wondering what Disney and McDonald's got for their
generous donations, well there's your answer. One complete set of
the bones was given to the Burger Chain to use
in a traveling tour the company was hosting, and another
(06:29):
copy of the skeleton was given to Disney Parks and Resorts.
You can still see that one for yourself in the
Dino Land USA section of its Animal Kingdom theme park
in Florida. As for the real deal, Sue, she first
went on display at the Field Museum in May of
two thousand. Fully assembled and posed in a natural hunched
(06:51):
over stance, the t rex measures more than forty two
ft long and thirteen feet tall at the hip. This
means that out of the third ety or so t
rex specimens found to date, Sue is the largest of
them all. She's one of the most long lived, too,
having died at the age of about twenty eight, with
the max lifespan for a t rex clocking in at
(07:13):
thirty five. Scientists were able to approximate Sue's age because
dinosaur bones have growth rings similar to trees. Despite her
relative old age and some signs of injury to her bones,
scientists actually think Sue died from disease rather than from
natural causes or a fight with a rival. Visitors to
(07:35):
the Field Museum may be puzzled to learn that Sue
actually has two heads on display. The one attached to
the rest of her skeleton is actually made of plastic,
as are several of her vertebrae, parts of her rib
cage and arms, and her left foot. Most of those
bones were never found at the dig site in South Dakota,
(07:56):
but in the case of Sue's skull, the real one
was just way too heavy to place on the skeletal neck. Instead,
the six hundred pound original sits in a nearby display
case where it can be appreciated up close from all angles.
Oh and if you're wondering how Sue kept her head
upright when she was alive, keep in mind that fossilization
(08:17):
has made the skull much heavier than when it was
just bone. A mostly complete t Rex skeleton isn't just
a point of pride for paleontologists. It's also a way
for them and us to learn more about the species biology, growth,
and behavior. For instance, the size of the hollow cavities
and Sue's well preserved skull helped scientists determine that the
(08:40):
t rex had an amazing sense of smell. Sue was
also the first t rex skeleton to be discovered with
an intact wishbone, a crucial piece of evidence for the
evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds. So if you ever
find yourself in the Windy City and you happen to
be a fan of dinosaurs, as all good hearted people are,
(09:01):
then be sure to visit the Field Museum and pay
your respects to the Terrible Lizard King herself a t
Rex named Sue. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now
know a little more about dino history today than you
did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by
following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d
(09:25):
i HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions,
you can always send them my way at this day
at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays
for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll
see you back here again soon for another day in
History class.
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