Ambassador dinosaur: The first replica of the much duplicated Diplodocus carnegii is unveiled at the British Museum of Natural History, May 12, 1905. Copies of the sauropod were sent to several heads of states and put on display in museums world-wide.Courtesy Public domain (via Wikipedia)Okay, I missed this by a day but I've already put some time into it before realizing that so I'm posting it anyway.
Back in the early 1900s, Britain's King Edward VII was so smitten by Andrew Carnegie's newly acquired dinosaur skeleton (Diplodocus carnegii), he asked the U.S. industrialist if he could get one for the British Museum of Natural History. The super-wealthy Carnegie told the king they were pretty rare but agreed to do the next best thing, and sent over a plaster cast of the giant sauropod. Carnegie also sent replicas to heads of states around the world. King Edward's copy was unveiled to the English public on May 12, 1905, and remains on display today. The original skeleton was comprised of bones from four Diplodocus specimens uncovered by Carnegie workers in Wyoming around 1900, and can be seen at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. Duplicates of Dippy (as he is affectionately called) still grace the halls of many museums worldwide including Paris, Mexico City, and St. Petersburg, Russia. He's certainly one the most duplicated dinosaurs in the world, and what a great ambassador for science!
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