Dinosaurs for Toddlers: T. Rex Teeth, Arms & Big Chomps

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: You're on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova, your driver.

Nova: And we are going somewhere amazing today.

Nova: We're going back.

Nova: Way, way, way back.

Nova: To when giant creatures ruled the Earth.

Nova: We're going to meet T. Rex.

Nova: And here is something wild, Explorers.

Nova: T. Rex had teeth as big as bananas.

Nova: BANANAS.

Nova: And it could chomp a whole car in one bite.

Nova: CHOMP.

Nova: Oh, I love this one.

Nova: Let's go.

Nova: Close your eyes for a second.

Nova: Picture this.

Nova: It is a very, very long time ago.

Nova: Before people.

Nova: Before dogs.

Nova: Before everything you know.

Nova: And through the trees...

Nova: Something is coming.

Nova: BOOM.

Nova: BOOM.

Nova: BOOM.

Nova: That is T. Rex.

Nova: Can you say T. Rex?

Nova: T. Rex!

Nova: Good, Explorers.

Nova: Now, T. Rex was BIG.

Nova: Really, really big.

Nova: How big?

Nova: As tall as two grown-ups.

Nova: Standing on each other's shoulders.

Nova: That is SO tall.

Nova: And T. Rex's head.

Nova: Oh, that head was enormous.

Nova: As big as a whole grown-up person lying down flat.

Nova: Just the HEAD.

Nova: Now, T. Rex walked on two legs.

Nova: Just like you do.

Nova: Not four legs like a dog.

Nova: Two legs, just like you.

Nova: Can you say TWO LEGS?

Nova: Two legs!

Nova: But T. Rex's arms?

Nova: Oh, Explorers.

Nova: T. Rex had the tiniest arms.

Nova: Teeny. Tiny. Arms.

Nova: Smaller than YOUR arms.

Nova: And those little arms couldn't even reach T. Rex's own mouth.

Nova: Try that yourself.

Nova: Tuck your elbows in really close.

Nova: Wiggle just your hands.

Nova: Those are your T. Rex arms.

Nova: Now try to touch your nose with them.

Nova: T. Rex couldn't do it either.

Nova: But you know what T. Rex DID have?

Nova: The most incredible mouth you can imagine.

Nova: Over fifty big pointy teeth.

Nova: Each one as long as a banana.

Nova: Can you say TEETH?

Nova: TEETH!

Nova: That mouth could crunch right through bones.

Nova: CRUNCH.

Nova: Like the biggest, loudest bite ever.

Nova: And if a tooth fell out?

Nova: A brand new one grew right back.

Nova: Like a tooth factory.

Nova: Right inside T. Rex's mouth.

Nova: Pretty amazing, right?

Nova: Now here is a secret about T. Rex.

Nova: A very surprising secret.

Nova: Are you ready?

Nova: Baby T. Rex was fluffy.

Nova: FLUFFY.

Nova: Scientists think baby T. Rex had soft fuzz.

Nova: Like a baby bird.

Nova: Soft and fuzzy and small.

Nova: Before it grew into the giant chomping T. Rex.

Nova: Can you imagine?

Nova: A fluffy baby dinosaur.

Nova: And T. Rex could SMELL.

Nova: Oh, it could smell so well.

Nova: Even better than a dog.

Nova: T. Rex's nose knew when dinner was coming.

Nova: From far, far away.

Nova: And its eyes pointed forward.

Nova: Just like yours.

Nova: So it could see how far away things were.

Nova: T. Rex was built for one big job.

Nova: And it did that job with its mouth.

Nova: That big, powerful, banana-toothed mouth.

Nova: Now, T. Rex lived a very long time ago.

Nova: Long before any people were here.

Nova: So nobody alive has ever met one.

Nova: We're safe on the Bus.

Nova: All the T. Rexes are gone now.

Nova: But do you know how we know about them?

Nova: We find their BONES.

Nova: Buried deep in the ground.

Nova: Bones that turned to rock over millions of years.

Nova: The most famous T. Rex bones we found are called Sue.

Nova: Sue lives in a big museum.

Nova: And Sue helps us understand what T. Rex was like.

Nova: Pretty cool detective work, right?

Nova: Okay, Explorers!

Nova: Quiz time!

Nova: I'm going to ask you some questions about T. Rex.

Nova: See if you know the answers.

Nova: Question one.

Nova: True or false.

Nova: T. Rex had teeth as big as bananas.

Nova: TRUE!

Nova: Those huge banana-sized teeth were for grabbing and crunching.

Nova: One big bite.

Nova: Question two.

Nova: True or false.

Nova: T. Rex had really long, strong arms.

Nova: FALSE!

Nova: Tiny arms!

Nova: Little bitty arms.

Nova: Because the giant mouth did all the work.

Nova: Question three.

Nova: How many legs did T. Rex walk on?

Nova: Two, four, or six?

Nova: TWO!

Nova: Just like you.

Nova: Two legs kept that big heavy head balanced up high.

Nova: You did it, Explorers.

Nova: Every single one of you thought so hard just now.

Nova: That thinking is what the Brain Bus runs on.

Nova: Every wonder, every guess, every try.

Nova: That is what we're here for.

Nova: Now, three big wow facts about T. Rex.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: Fact one.

Nova: T. Rex could swallow a huge amount of meat in one bite.

Nova: Like eating a whole couch full of food.

Nova: In one go.

Nova: Fact two.

Nova: T. Rex's closest living relative today?

Nova: Not a lizard.

Nova: A BIRD.

Nova: Birds are actually T. Rex's cousins.

Nova: So the next time you see a chicken...

Nova: That chicken's great-great-great-great-grandparent was T. Rex.

Nova: Fact three.

Nova: T. Rex had MORE than fifty teeth.

Nova: And whenever one fell out?

Nova: A sharp new one grew back.

Nova: A whole tooth factory in its mouth.

Nova: Forever.

Nova: Okay, Explorers.

Nova: It is time for the T. Rex test.

Nova: Here we go.

Nova: Tuck your elbows in tight.

Nova: Close to your sides.

Nova: Now wiggle just your hands.

Nova: Those are your T. Rex arms!

Nova: Now try to scratch your nose with them.

Nova: Can you do it?

Nova: T. Rex couldn't either.

Nova: Now open your mouth as wide as you can.

Nova: Really wide.

Nova: And go CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP.

Nova: That is how T. Rex ate dinner.

Nova: No hands at all.

Nova: Just that big, wide, powerful mouth.

Nova: Here is a wondering question.

Nova: What other animals do you know...

Nova: That use their mouth instead of their hands?

Nova: Maybe a fish?

Nova: Maybe a shark?

Nova: Keep wondering about that one.

Nova: Hey.

Nova: Let's just think about this for a second.

Nova: T. Rex had a tiny body... and a giant mouth.

Nova: Because its mouth did all the work.

Nova: When one part of you is super strong...

Nova: The other parts don't have to be.

Nova: The mouth was everything.

Nova: So the arms could stay small.

Nova: Isn't that something?

Nova: T. Rex has been gone for sixty-six million years.

Nova: And yet right now...

Nova: In this car...

Nova: You know what it felt like.

Nova: That earth shaking underfoot.

Nova: BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Nova: Sixty-six million years.

Nova: And the wonder is still here.

Nova: Next time on the Brain Bus...

Nova: We are going somewhere even deeper.

Nova: Somewhere very, very small.

Nova: And very, very beautiful.

Nova: I can't wait to show you.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.