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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SHARK" data-source="post: 189411" data-attributes="member: 1131">Greetings!Yes, well Mmadsen, did you also know that the Romans hunted some animals to extinction? There was also a rare purple plant that was used as a natural contraceptive--it too was so over-harvested by the demand for it in the Roman world that it, as a plant species, was harvested to extinction as well. I'm aware that the Romans hunted throughout the Mediterranean world with well-equipped hunting expeditions, designed to bring back as many bizarre and strange creatures as possible, for the great games in the arena's of the empire. After all, the Colliseum could fit at least 50,000 screaming fans. Yes, that's *at least* 50,000 screaming fans. And people envision it difficult to field 80,000 troops in an army?<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> At any rate, it is an intriguing idea. I have read so many books, I can't possibly remember all of the titles, or the authors. You see, when I was a boy, and a teenager, my parents encouraged me all the time to read, read, read. My father would drive me to various local libraries, and I would check out 4-8 large, scholarly books every two weeks, and read them all. I read every book that I could get my hands on in my school library, in two county libraries, and in the city library downtown, on ancient history, Rome, Medieval History, and World War II. I did this quite frequently, because I was born I suppose with a gift for reading swiftly, and with great comprehension. Throughout my school years, I was regularly reading four grade levels or higher than my current age/grade level. I read so quickly, and so thoroughly, that for example, in elementary school,  they put me in a special reading class where I could read books that high school and college were reading. I read so many books, that I can't remember them all, there were so many.All of that has paid off, now that I am in college, because I can comprehend just about anything they have easily, and I can read it swiftly, which makes assignments easier, to say the least. I now have a large personal library, that grows on a regular basis.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I joked with my wife that I should like to some day own my own store--In it I would have the following:(1) A coffee house: Here would be served fine coffees and soda drinks, tea, and so on. Light snacks would also be available. (2) A Tobacco Shop: Within a large pair of glass doors, there would be couches, finely carved tables, art-work, and fine pipe-tobacco, and excellent cigars. There would also be a lounge area here, and large tables and booths to read at while one enjoyed a good cigar and a fine coffee.(3) A large, multi-level, finely furnished bookstore. Here, besides couches and lots of tables, would be rows and rows of bookshelves.I would have specially secured viewing rooms for rare documents, and special edition books, all held in tempurature-controlled rooms. Here would also be a viewing room with one level, where people could plug into ear jacks to hear famous speeches and so on, or watch special videos. On another level, there would be a daily movie/documentary room, where a special documentary or significant historical movie would be showed several times throughout the day. It is also in some fine presentation rooms that I would have guest authors and speakers attend for book signings and special guest lectures.Eh, it is nice to dream I suppose!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />In several books I have read about some obscure kind of dinosaurs were encountered by explorers from Rome and Greece in different parts of Africa. It is facinating to think of. I know the canon says one thing, but you know what? Sometimes canon has to be revised. Authorities didn't think Troy existed either, but it did. Same goes for the Hittite Empire. They all thought it was just some outlandish tale from the Bible until oops...um...gosh, what do we have here?--they found an entire Hittite city in the 19th century. Same thing with the dinosaurs, or various prehistoric mammals. I certainly think it is unlikely, but who knows? Certainly, the farther back in time that you go, because humans weren't quite as spread out, or quite as efficient in finding and hunting *everything* I think the possibilities increase fairly significantly for the odd prehistoric survivor or group to be found. Imagine that!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Semper Fidelis,SHARK</blockquote>

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