T. rex Trying…
A new cartoon series counts the many things tiny-armed Tyrannosaurus couldn’t do: cross-country ski, eat from a buffet, count to five
![A reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus rex on display at the National Museum of Natural History.](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/uk-Jpk8sWCZgB7iqzUrCDLK_uIo=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/20120131112017tyrannosaurus-thumb.jpg)
I can’t help feel bad for Tyrannosaurus. The dinosaur’s relatively minuscule arms are a near-constant source of ridicule. It doesn’t matter that there were other fearsome predatory dinosaurs with even smaller and apparently useless arms—the short arms of the “tyrant king” are a cruel evolutionary joke.
All the same, the tumblr blog T-Rex Trying… is a whimsical line-drawing catalog of all the things Tyrannosaurus couldn’t do with those small arms. Everything from cross-country skiing to simply counting to five would have posed a challenge, although I think my personal favorite is Tyrannosaurus trying to navigate the sneeze-guard at a buffet. Although such a scenario assumes that Tyrannosaurus would have had the manners to stand in line for the steam-tray fare and would not have gobbled up the bacon- and potato-stuffed clientele….