One (Extra)ordinary Day, Red Paperclip, Dinosaurs

The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America Guest: Gene Weingarten; two-time Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, and author, "One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America" What happened yesterday at 3:15 pm? What about five years ago at 6:27? For most of us, these passing moments seem insignificant in the course of our lives. But according to journalist Gene Weingarten, no moment, no day is insignificant. He joins us to discuss his new book "One Day: The Extraordinary Story of An Ordinary 24 Hours in America." How One Man Traded a Paperclip for a House Guest: Kyle MacDonald, "the red paperclip guy," and author, "One Red Paperclip: How to Trade a Red Paperclip for a House" A game of "bigger or better" turned Kyle's little red paperclip into a house. He shares his fun story, and also a message of hope and optimism for anyone who wants to improve his or her situation. Scientists Learn Big Lessons from Tiny Dinosaur Dandruff Guest: Mike Benton, Professor, Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol When you have a chance to visit a dinosaur museum, it’s easy to feel small next to a 20- to 30-foot long skeleton of, say, a stegosaurus. But it’s fun to imagine paleontologists assembling all those massive bones and plates to solve the puzzle of what dinosaurs looked like. Except, the puzzle isn’t really complete once the skeleton is put back together again. Because, there’s the skin to consider . . . and feathers. And, scientists now even look at dinosaur dandruff to figure out how these creatures moved. Because something as small as a flake of skin can actually be just as important to understanding these creatures as a skull, or a leg bone. Just How Did Dinosaurs Use Their Teeth? Guest: Michael D'Emic, Assistant Professor, Biology, Adelphi University Herbivorous and some carnivorous dinosaurs replaced their teeth rather quickly. What this tells us about their diet and social structure.  Dinosaur Treasure Guest: Caleb Brown, Curator, Dinosaur Systematics and Evolution, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Alberta, Canada In March 2011, a mechanical shovel operator accidentally stumbled on a mummified dinosaur.  It was so well preserved that the contents of its guts were still inside. What we learn from this amazing specimen.