Could Dragons Exist?
Many cultures over time have had stories of gigantic winged beasts soaring through the air and breathing fire. (Levy). In the past few decades, groups or individuals have set out to prove that dragons could or do exist, and have attempted to explain their habits and lifestyles (Dickinson). So far, no hard evidence has surfaced, yet authors still set out to prove the dragons existence, and often have their own theories on dragon physiology and habit (Dickinson). Still many questions arise in the pursuit of dragon fact and proof. One of the things that should first be asked, is where the legendary beasts supposedly live or lived, and what cultures have or had stories about them. There have been myths and artworks of the draconion form all over the world, yet they are most prevalent in the Chinese culture (Cooper). Besides the Chinese, the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Celtics, Romans, Hebrews, Japanese, Cambodians, and British all shared similar stories of dragons (Cooper). Between the stories, all share basically two common features, fiery breath of the beasts, and the ability of the creatures to fly. Along with the physical feature
After we've established the general background on dragons, and move onto the creatures themselves, the anatomical problems surface. First, dragons are almost always seen with wings, that extend off the shoulder blades, or somewhere out of the back. The problem with this is the fact that no creature exists with six members, that is four legs and two wings ( Dickinson) A common opinion is that the "wings" on a dragon are actually extended ribs (Levy). Another way in which dragons could have adapted to flight is by having a body that is very light. In order for dragons to fly, their bones were or are hollow like a birds, they have broad breast bones with a deep keel to provide an attachment place for powerful wing muscles, and a long body with aerodynamic scales to help reduce drag (Levy). Another method in which dragons could improve their flying is by storing a lighter than air gas in some sort of bladder internally (Dickinson). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stories involving dragons have been traced as far back as 2205 B.C. to the Hsia Dynasty (Dickinson). In the Old Testament of the Bible, "the 'place of dragons' was
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Approximate Word count = 796
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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