Photo credit: Jean Lacovara
No, oil doesn’t come from dinosaurs. It’s a persistent myth and I’m asked about it a lot. You may have heard this idea in school, read it in books, or taken it on authority from learned persons holding forth about the nature of our planet. Recently, an Internet meme has been bouncing around that shows a collection of small dinosaur toys. The overprinting reads, “If oil is made from decomposed dinosaurs, and plastic is made from oil, are dinosaur toys made from real dinosaurs?” It’s a fun idea, but no...