Dinosaurs

Three important scientific auctions this week: a 13-m (43-ft) Diplodocus skeleton (US$1.5 to $1.8 million), a first edition Luca Pacioli’s "Summa de Arithmetica" ($1.0 to $1.5 million) and a presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s "On the Origin of Species" ($200,000 to $300,000).

People have actually claimed to have seen living pterosuars, although those alleged sightings tend to be confined to far-flung places. That could be about to change, however. PaulG Toys is raising production funds for a radio-controlled pterodactyl, that flies by flapping its wings.