--------------------------------------
December 16, 2005

A last gasp about Natural History Museums:

Last night during the wee hours, there was something on the History Channel, I think, about looking for Big Foot around the world. An investigative reporter went to the Sankenburg (spelling?) Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, to see fossilized molars from Gigantopithicus (spelling?), that were excavated in China.

The program showed the outside of that old museum, where I myself briefly visited a couple of times. I was mostly interested in the collection of extinct North American birds on display. I recall off hand the Laborador Duck, Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, and the Great Auk (with egg).

Since Frankfurt seems to have become the crossroads of the world, if anyone finds themselves there with time to kill, I suggest a visit to that old building.

Happy Holidays!

Phil Hotlen
Bellingham, WA
----------------------------------------------