1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: a show that proves you're never too old or dead 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: to make history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're digging 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: into the story of one of the most important paleontological 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,799 Speaker 1: finds of all time, the day when the true shape 7 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 1: of Tyrannosaurus rex finally came into focus. The day was 8 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: August twelfth, nine Fossil hunters in South Dakota uncovered the 9 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: largest and most complete t rex skeleton ever found. That morning, 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: paleontologist Sue Hendrickson had noticed three large bones sticking out 11 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: of a cliff in South Dakota. Further excavation revealed the 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: bones belonged to a nearly complete skeleton of a thirteen 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: footall tarra an Asaurus rex. The find was officially cataloged 14 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: as Specimen f m n h PR two zero one eight, 15 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: but since that's a lousy name for a dinosaur, everyone 16 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: just started calling her Sue, in honor of the woman 17 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: who found her. To be clear, scientists still don't know 18 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: whether Sue the t rex was a male or a female, 19 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: but as Johnny Cash fans know, the name Sue can 20 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: sometimes go either way. Some girl with giggle and I'd 21 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: get rid of some god laft night must as said. 22 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: I'll take it. Life made easy for a boy named Sue. 23 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: In an interesting twist, we actually have a flat tire 24 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: to thank for Sue's discovery. Hendrickson and the rest of 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: her team had spent all summer searching for fossils in 26 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: the mountains just north of Faith, South Dakota. By mid August, 27 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: the team had uncovered several Edmontasaurus bones and was ready 28 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: to bring the dig to a close. However, on the 29 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: morning of August twelve, their truck got a flat tire. 30 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: Sue Hendrickson used the delay as an opportunity to take 31 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: her dog for a walk and to explore some nearby 32 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: cliffs that the team hadn't gotten to yet. A short 33 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: time later, she spotted several large fossilized vertebrae jutting out 34 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: of the side of a cliff. The bones were a 35 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: deep brown color, the same shade as the iron and 36 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: other minerals in which they'd been buried for more than 37 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: sixty million years. Hendrickson reported her discovery to the rest 38 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: of her team, all of whom were there on behalf 39 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The president 40 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: of that institute, Peter Larson, identified the protruding bones as 41 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Sue Hendrickson theorized that 42 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: the rest of the skeleton could be nearby. Thrilled at 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: the prospect of unearthing a complete t rex, the six 44 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: person team decided to stick around a little longer. In 45 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: the end, it took seventeen days to carefully extract the 46 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: rest of the skeleton from the ground. The whole team 47 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 1: was amazed at the breadth of their discovery. Out of 48 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: approximately three hundred and eighty known bones in a t 49 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: rex skeleton, they had found two hundred and fifty, or 50 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: around nine. It was the most complete example of the 51 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: species ever found, and as of the time of recording, 52 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: it still is. Unfortunately, the rarity of Soothe the t 53 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: Rex immediately sparked a messy dispute over who actually owned 54 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: her bones. The Black Hills Institute had paid five thousand 55 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: dollars for the right to search for and excavate fossils 56 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: on the land of Maurice Williams. However, when news of 57 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: their big discovery got out, Williams insisted that the fee 58 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: was only for the right to look for, dig out 59 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: and clean fossils, not to keep them. That turned out 60 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: to be the first of many complications surrounding Sue's ownership. 61 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: It came to light that Williams was a member of 62 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: the Sioux, and the rest of his people claimed that 63 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: the bones rightfully belonged to all of them. Soon after, 64 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: it was also revealed that the U. S Department of 65 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: the Interior had been holding William's property in trust for 66 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: tax relief purposes. That essentially meant the land that Sue 67 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: was found on belonged to the US government, and no 68 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: one at the Black Hills Institute had asked the government 69 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: for permission to dig there. As a result, the FBI 70 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: and the South Dakota National Guard raided the Black Hills 71 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: Institute and confiscated the t Rex skeleton for safe keeping. 72 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: After years of legal battles in federal court, it was 73 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: eventually decided that the fossil did belong to Maurice Williams. 74 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: In Williams decided he really didn't have much use for 75 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty t Rex bones, so he put 76 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: the skeleton up for auction at Southby's. Chicago's Field Museum 77 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: of Natural History desperately wanted the recks for it's already 78 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: impressive collection of fossils, but one of the best preserved 79 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: dinosaur skeletons ever found was bound to command top dollar 80 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: at auction. To lessen the financial sting, the Field Museum 81 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: pulled its money with California State University, Walt Disney Parks 82 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: and Resorts, McDonald's, and a host of individual donors. Through 83 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: that combined effort, the Field Museum was able to secure 84 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: the winning bid, a whopping eight million, three hundred sixty 85 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and five hundred dollars. As the proud new 86 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: owner of the world's biggest t Rex, the Field Museum 87 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: immediately set to work constructing a new research laboratory specifically 88 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: for the preservation of Sue. Museum guests got to watch 89 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: the meticulous process through a glass wall that looked into 90 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: the lab. Altogether, it took more than twenty five thousand 91 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: hours to fully, clean, restore, and assemble Sue the t Rex. 92 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: Along the way, multiple copies were made of each bone, 93 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: and for the ones that were missing, plastic models were 94 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: created so that the full skeleton could be assembled and 95 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: If you're wondering what Disney and McDonald's got for their 96 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: generous donations, well there's your answer. One complete set of 97 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: the bones was given to the Burger Chain to use 98 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: in a traveling tour the company was hosting, and another 99 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: copy of the skeleton was given to Disney Parks and Resorts. 100 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: You can still see that one for yourself in the 101 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: Dino Land USA section of its Animal Kingdom theme park 102 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: in Florida. As for the real deal, Sue, she first 103 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: went on display at the Field Museum in May of 104 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: two thousand. Fully assembled and posed in a natural hunched 105 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: over stance, the t rex measures more than forty two 106 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: ft long and thirteen feet tall at the hip. This 107 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: means that out of the third ety or so t 108 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: rex specimens found to date, Sue is the largest of 109 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: them all. She's one of the most long lived, too, 110 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: having died at the age of about twenty eight, with 111 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: the max lifespan for a t rex clocking in at 112 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: thirty five. Scientists were able to approximate Sue's age because 113 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: dinosaur bones have growth rings similar to trees. Despite her 114 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: relative old age and some signs of injury to her bones, 115 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: scientists actually think Sue died from disease rather than from 116 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: natural causes or a fight with a rival. Visitors to 117 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: the Field Museum may be puzzled to learn that Sue 118 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: actually has two heads on display. The one attached to 119 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: the rest of her skeleton is actually made of plastic, 120 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: as are several of her vertebrae, parts of her rib 121 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: cage and arms, and her left foot. Most of those 122 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: bones were never found at the dig site in South Dakota, 123 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: but in the case of Sue's skull, the real one 124 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: was just way too heavy to place on the skeletal neck. Instead, 125 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: the six hundred pound original sits in a nearby display 126 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: case where it can be appreciated up close from all angles. 127 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: Oh and if you're wondering how Sue kept her head 128 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: upright when she was alive, keep in mind that fossilization 129 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: has made the skull much heavier than when it was 130 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: just bone. A mostly complete t Rex skeleton isn't just 131 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: a point of pride for paleontologists. It's also a way 132 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: for them and us to learn more about the species biology, growth, 133 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,079 Speaker 1: and behavior. For instance, the size of the hollow cavities 134 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: and Sue's well preserved skull helped scientists determine that the 135 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: t rex had an amazing sense of smell. Sue was 136 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: also the first t rex skeleton to be discovered with 137 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: an intact wishbone, a crucial piece of evidence for the 138 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds. So if you ever 139 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: find yourself in the Windy City and you happen to 140 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: be a fan of dinosaurs, as all good hearted people are, 141 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: then be sure to visit the Field Museum and pay 142 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: your respects to the Terrible Lizard King herself a t 143 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: Rex named Sue. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now 144 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: know a little more about dino history today than you 145 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by 146 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d 147 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 1: i HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 148 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way at this day 149 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 150 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 151 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: see you back here again soon for another day in 152 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: History class.