ideath ([info]ideath) wrote,
@ 2008-08-04 11:57:00
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a breakthrough in science? or just in hyperbole?
The summary/intro of BYPAD's report on cycling in Ferrara*:
"Absolutely flat land helps and a refusal of all forms of change that might upset ancient and reassuring habits. The people of Ferrara have been using bicycles since the dawn of time."
(emphasis mine)

I'm curious about these primordial bicycles. Anyone care to fill me in on their qualities and habits? Or even speculate on how this might be possible?

* Unfortunately, the PDF of the report itself appears to be MIA.

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[info]glowing_fish
2008-08-04 09:05 pm UTC (link)
Here is a picture of an early, primitive bicycle, in its natural setting in the Burgess Fauna:

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[info]ideath
2008-08-05 12:50 am UTC (link)
Is that bicycle made of cartilage?

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[info]glowing_fish
2008-08-05 03:54 am UTC (link)
Well, as you know, the bicycles that were buried in the heavily anaerobic environment of the Burgess Shale slowly had their soft parts replaced with minerals. This being the case, we can't know with absolute certainty what the original material was. However, according to Burton, McMeyers, et al. in their 2002 monograph "Microcrystalline fracture lines in the spokes of the Cambrian bicyclus macrorotus", the structure of early bicycles was probably a calcium based solid. This makes sense in lieu of the fact that bone is in most cases a more pristine form than cartilage, with cartilage actually being a derived trait.

However, as in most cases with early bicycle faunas, experts are not in total agreement on this point.

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[info]e2satori
2008-08-04 10:14 pm UTC (link)
La Brea Bicycle Pits?

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[info]ideath
2008-08-05 12:50 am UTC (link)
Tragic episode in bicycle prehistory!

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[info]pmb
2008-08-05 01:14 am UTC (link)
The article was obviously written by a member of an extremist cult offshot from the young-earth creationists.

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[info]boojum
2008-08-18 04:02 am UTC (link)
Philadelphia Airport has an exhibit which is a giant bicycle carved out of wood and a giant motorcycle made out of seashells. Perhaps this exhibit is a natural history display, not an art display, and the giant vehicles were dug up nearby.

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