In the 90's, you might have been convinced by certain bestsellers and major motion pictures that if someone created a theme park full of man-made dinosaurs, you'd probably get eaten. What no one could have predicted back then was that you wouldn't be getting eaten by a dinosaur... you'd be getting eaten by a
robot dinosaur. At least that's likely what you can expect when Dubai's $1 billion "Restless Planet" park opens in late 2008, a 500,000 square foot recreation of our planet at a time when dinosaurs roamed -- replete with giant, animatronic / robotic versions of over 40 extinct species. According to the park's managing director Mustafa Galadari, "The Restless Planet provides a visual, audio and tactile experience allowing visitors to experience some of the exciting things that have gone on in the Earth's history," adding that the effect will be, "Extremely realistic and scary – but at the same time, educational." The dinos will contain embedded potentiometers and motion sensors (amongst others), apparently allowing the reptilian re-creations to follow visitors with their eyes, track specific colors of clothing, regulate their own movements, and even lunge at viewers... then eat them. Don't say we didn't warn you.
posted December 18th 2007 4:37PM
makes sense. all that dino juice they're sitting on made them what they are today.
Not really. They don't have that much. Their crazy wealth is based off processing and extremely lax port laws that favor the oil companies. So all the companies run their pipes to Dubai, process it there, then ship it out. Dubai just takes a small cut for being the middle man. The second big $$$ generator--soon to No. 1--is their finance sector. Once again, their lax laws when it comes to finance draw all the banks there. Dubai, thanks to its forward looking monarch who instituted these changes beginning in the 70s when he saw the country's oil supply run low, is now one of the richest nations in the world despite being one of the smallest. They're like the Mideast Switzerland.
real dinosaurs > oil > money > robot dinosaurs
i too welcome our robot tyrannolords.
Petroleum doesn't come from dinosaurs!
GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Although I'm sure a nice dinosaur stock might add something unique to a stew.
Dubai ceases to amaze me in terms of how much AWESOME SHIT they get. They are filthy rich with oil, but hey, I could just dream about what we could do in America with the money going to the war...
They don't amaze you anymore?
YEAH, Palooooooz! *Nitpicking high five*
Haha quick edit.. They NEVER CEASE to amaze me.
I'm horrible
Yea, if only we'd drill into our natural oil reserves in Alaska, and then gouge superpowered foreign economies to export those resources instead of relying on their own- maybe someday we could have a dinosaur-themed amusement park!
You're right- the money towards the war is the reason why we don't have "Awesome Shit" like Dubai.
@Righty
On hot days, i prefer to take small sips of my drink while all the others chug away at theirs, only to be very thirsty after their done, while I still had alot left.
Get my drift?
We are being very smart *NOT* to touch our natural reserves of oil.
@ Ruben
Go ahead and chug the drinks of everyone sitting around the table then, but don't be surprised when you have 10 pissed off, sweaty people standing around you with parched mouths while you're finally sipping away at your own drink.
Remember, pinky out!
@fistpittingnork
Well they will be standing around you pissed off, but really what are they gonna do if you have already invaded everything they own?
WANT
I understand they do not like Americans. YMMV.
They like our billions of dollars a year in oil money.
Who DO
Where did you dig up that old fossil?
Lovely! :) Good thing I live near Dubai, a car ride from down town :D
Love the city, love the atmosphere and definitely loving every project; gone are the days where I trade in my money for some dollars in order to go into "some" park at some state or city.
Now only if the Dinosaurs do look that real, I would live there! I will be super scared, but will love it to the max. :D
I just hope those dinos follow the first robot law :)
DODSON, DODSON, DODSON, WE GOT DODSON HERE!
Seriously though, I do hope something goes terribly wrong. It'd be so ironic.
Why do you want something bad to happen? Why would it be so ironic?
umm jurassic park... the movie (although if something bad happens i hope no one gets hurt)
@Ian
Ah...it seems we have at least 2 people that don't understand irony.
Trust me, whenever Dubai plans something, Doha plans something bigger and better to compete :P
like real dinosaurs...
pkpowerhouse, loved it, hahahahahahhahahaa :)
wth LAZORS tew!!
Nothing good can come of this.
Except perhaps PURE AWESOMENESS
I hope that raptors can't swim long distances...
I believe this is totally appropriate: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/search_history.png
Doesn't anyone remember what happened at at itchy and scratchy land??? No good will come of this...and for god sakes...dont forget to cary the one...
just make sure to carry a camera with a flash and you're set
Will electric fences keep the dinosaurs in?
....or just make them stronger, smarter and faster?
So this isn't exactly like Jurassic Park, more like a combination of Westworld and Jurassic Park? It still means Michael Crichton will doom us all!!!
Seriously, how much are tickets?
"Seriously, how much are tickets?"
Who cares? These animals are for everyone to enjoy. They'll probably have a "Coupon Day" or someting...
Your petrodollars at work. Nice also that we've got our military deployed over there to prop up the royals.
Yeah, but when Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't EAT the tourists!
/obligatory
Oh good; Jurassic park and Westworld brought together in one place.
Not sure I want to get the golden ticket for that opening day*
*I need a new hobby. 3 film references in one post.
Maybe Doha will try to top this by constructing Itchy & Scratchy Land!
ah ah ah you didnt say the magic word...
first they get a building in the shape of an iPod, then they get an indoor skying facility, now they can have their criminals get eaten by dinosaurs! What the hell America, we gotta step it up!
God creates dinosaurs, god destroys dinosaurs, god creates man, man destroys god, man creates robot dinosaurs...dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the earth! Why did we destroy god!!!
Not quite DinoPark Tycoon, but I guess I'll take it anyway.
20 bucks says the Jewasaurus isn't represented.
I hope they put them in the indoor ski slope!
can't they use their cash for more productive uses? like maybe advancing the human race and investing in technology?
these idiots spend their money like spoiled children.
Yeah - maybe they can put their money to good use like the US and buy tons of weapons and invade other countries.
guess the first place you're gonna come crying to when your country gets invaded?
Right.
The United States of America.
Huh? I live in the US, dick.
Well tom, you definitely are not living in the UAE or Dubai, and you definitely are basing your talk on pure CNN and BBC political-hour crap.
Here are some projects that are being developed in a serious manner:
1. Dubai Energy: Controlling and managing power in a new future-based technologies.
2. Dubai Healthcare City: Fully equipped medical "City" for the poor and the rich and stupid and smart. Also for health research and development. (Medical plans in the UAE are cheap and useful, unlike other countries).
3. Dubai Industrial City: Fully equipped city for industrial research and development, and one of the main issues they have in their agenda is the problem with the Chinese humiliation done by some large "successful" companies.
4. Dubai Knowledge Village: Just wiki this one, you will be amazed by the amount of effort spent on education for all the levels of people.
5. Dubai International Academic City: Another great place to "learn" for real. Google this.
6. Dubiotech: Wiki this one too.
This is only by one holding company! Listen, Dubai as you know it from news is the money spending spoiled girl from across the street, but the reality is that part of Dubai's plans is to establish a "knowledge-based economy" within 2010, which seems completely normal and on track.
Dubai is not following what you guys learn in books and apply every single year, instead, Dubai is "writing" a book in history, I would call this book: "Cut the crap, you so called smart-ass book readers and followers". 100 years ago, building a city in 4 years was impossible, so "analyses and smart-people" called such process "crazy", and people until now think that we still live in 1907! We are in 2007, where a new technology is being developed in every friction of a second, this is reality and not only done by Dubai, but by other "great" countries and businesses, it's only what I call "Jealousy" that burns the brains of people and make them say some BS to make them sound "Smart". I mean seriously, a Professor who has been teaching at a fine University about the economy and how to develop it will never agree with what Dubai is doing, because he will sound "Stupid", he will sound "Not" like a real professor, and the same goes for politicians, newscasters and news readers.
I hope that you are getting the big picture, and to make it even more simple here is how I can explain it:
Dubai right now is like a New York 100 years ago, but with more control, more religion, wiser leaders and lots of money!
Imagine the outcome. :)
Google stuff up, and go to trusted websites only, also check this link out, lots of useful information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Holding