![]() Polsky was there when one of his fossil hunting friends did win the lottery. "It's just so rare that you see something that's worth taking back." Polsky says. Not only is it hot, dirty, tedious work, but paleontologists spend a lot of time finding and identifying fossils that they ultimately leave behind in the field. In the movies, paleontologists stumble onto a bone, and after brushing off a little sand, reveal a beautiful, a perfectly in-tact dinosaur skeleton. It doesn't help that most people are fairly ignorant about what it's actually like to be a fossil hunter - thanks, in large part, to Jurassic Park. they're not keen about giving you their secrets - letting you know their locations where their dinosaurs are." These are guys that survive by their wits and in order to find dinosaurs, you have to go out on land that belongs to private ranchers. "We're talking about commercial dinosaur hunters," Polsky explains, "these are not professors with Ph.D.s at big universities. Not exactly a warm welcome, but Polsky says he can understand their ambivalence about his tagging along on the digs. You people come out here from parts unknown and think you can take our dinosaurs." "You think you've got what it takes to find a T. ![]() In the book, he recounts an early exchange he had with Steve Sacrison. It took some time for the veteran fossil hunters to warm up to Polsky. "They're known in the trade as 'The Bonehead Brothers' because they're goofballs." ![]() rexs found in the history of the world," Polsky explains, and the Sacrisons have found three of them. The title, Polsky tells NPR's David Greene, was inspired by a pair of eccentric dinosaur bone hunting twins, Stan and Steve Sacrison. The people he met and the prehistoric discoveries he made are all part of his new book, Boneheads: My Search for T. He set off for the Badlands of South Dakota to search for fossils. Sure, he was a successful art dealer and author, but Polsky decided it was time to chase an old childhood dream: He wanted to hunt for dinosaurs. If you could do it all over again, what would you be when you grow up? Richard Polsky asked himself that question as he was nearing his 50th birthday. ![]()
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