Atlantica - 01.06.2002, Page 16

14 A T L A N T I C A
Funny Old Word: Dinosaur
Kids love dinosaurs. Adults also have an obsession for the prehistoric beasts with tiny
brains. Just ask Steven Spielberg, who dazzled us with Jurassic Park, a film low on
plot, but heavy on special effects. The film showed friendly, plant-eating dinosaurs run-
ning in harmony with nature (a sentimentalist), as well as vicious man-eaters terroris-
ing those idiots dumb enough to take a safari on an island full of vicious man-eaters,
in nothing more than a jeep.
Ah, the magic of cinema.
The word dinosaur was coined in the mid-19th century by the British anatomist
Richard Owen, meaning ‘terrible lizard’. The word stems from the modern Latin
dinosaurus, broken down from the Greek deinos ‘terrible’, plus sauros ‘lizard’.
When you think about it, the word dinosaur should’ve been the title of the second and
third instalments of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Deinos for the terrible quality of the
sequels (please, no more) about lizards (sauros) that were forced upon us by studio
executives motivated by piles of cash rising as high as a Tyrannosaurus rex.
I hear Spielberg is working on a film where scientists go to an island populated by
giant Barney and Teletubbie clones who team up to fight a grudge match against the
evil raptors. Be careful Sam Neill. EW
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Few things in life feel more
sensual and utterly pleasurable
than slipping between crisp,
clean, luxurious bed sheets.
Whether silk bedspreads do it
for you or only the very best in
cotton linen, the White Company
in London offers some of the
most gorgeous selections avail-
able at affordable prices. Their
shop just off Sloane Square in
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accessories, children’s clothes
and accessories, and comfort-
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idyllic for lounging around the
house in, without looking or
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If you are fussy about what you
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Sweet
Dreams Are
Made Of
These
THE WHITE COMPANY, 8 SYMONS STREET, LONDON (NEAREST TUBE STATION, SLOANE SQUARE). OR ORDER THROUGH THEIR WEB SITE AT WWW.THEWHITECO.COM
airmail
WHITE
011-026 ATL402 Airmail 21.6.2002 16:36 Page 14