When and if I ever die, I hope that its in some way that allows me to become a fossil

If you've been watching or reading the news, you're probably aware of the recent discovery of Darwinius Marsillae, or Ida, as she's been nicknamed. All of the science blogs I've been able to find are really frustrated with the media's handling of this find, and they all generally say, "yes, this is a tremendous find, and yes, it does support and inform what we know about evolution, but it doesn't 'change everything'" The news hype around this fossil is making it look like Ida is the veritable saviour of the fossil record.

I think the most interesting thing about it is how incredibly old she is. 47 million years old. That's ludicrously old, and we can still tell what her last meal was. How crazy is science?!?

I hope that one day, when I'm really old, preferably, I get caught in a toxic gas cloud and sink to the bottom of a lake and neatly covered in sediment so that my last meal can be noted by scientists 47 million years from now. I hope its Buffalo wings.

Recently in Canada they discovered another fossil that was really interesting and shows us how seals went from land to sea animals called Puijila darwini. Its interesting to me, at least. I'm wondering if we're going to name every fossil we find after Darwin from now on. If I found a fossil I'd probably name it something a little more fun. I would probably call Puijila darwini "Lazer Seal," and that's just off the top of my head.

The new mewithoutYou is fantastic and in constant play here at my desk. I highly recommend it.