The DINSAUR Interplanetary Gazette

"Sue" The T. rex at Sotheby's and Beyond!

The Sotheby's Phase
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The New Sue Blues

 Susan Hendrickson and "Sue" the T.rex,

What's in a Name?
    | The Press Release - The Contest | The Commentary | Recent Links |
 

The Dinosaur Formerly Known as "Sue"
The Field Museum of Chicago,  Illinois,USA has decided for various reasons to "re-name" Sue the T-rex. Children everywhere have come to know and love this dinosaur by the name "Sue,"  and such a radical step is certainly worthy of examination.

24-January- 1998
Poor Sue Hendrickson, and poor  BLANK  the T. rex! Let's see, now. First Sue H. discovers this totally awesome T. rex. Then, she and the Black Hills Institute spend lots of time and money digging it out of the ground. And around then, they name the beastie "Sue" after guess who? Then the Federal Government can't decide who owns it, and they take it away and lock it up  (along with a guy who dug it up). Then there is this big auction at Sotheby's and a guy who didn't really do anything gets all the money.  Now, the Field Museum wants to take Sue Hendrickson's name off the dino. Yes, indeed,  that's justice!  Go figure.

Why don't they call it "Sue H." the T. rex. Then people could call it "Sue" for short and not have to bother with any of those silly copyright attorneys. That's pretty simple, isn't it? If we were 10 years old and/or could stuff the ballot box, we'd make sure this one would win!

In the meanwhile, check out the "controversy." And, uh, enter the contest, y'all. Just remember how to spell: " S U E  H E N D R I C K S O N " okay?

7-February-1998
Strange to add that despite all of this "re-naming" rucuss, there has been virtually no comment from the Black Hills Institute. It seems that they are away in Tucson at a large gem show from February 1-12.  And that the contest --scheduled rather suddenly -- ends on February 20. Scientists would say it was just a coincidence.  In addition, News of this "nationwide" contest has barely escaped Chicago.

Rumors abound that there are behind the scenes "reasons" for renaming the dinosaur that have to do with marketing and not with proper scientific credit. BHIG claims to have spent nearly $200,000 excavating and preparing the dinosaur. To date, they haven't received a penny of reimbursement, and those of you who have seen the NOVA documentary "The Curse of T.rex" know how difficult the whole situation has been!
 

Dateline: 23 January 1998, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Field Museum Plans Nationwide Contest to Re-Name Dinosaur

CHICAGO, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Field Museum announced today it will discontinue using the name "Sue" for its recently acquired Tyrannosaurus rex fossil.  As part of a multi-year educational campaign surrounding the dinosaur, the Museum plans to launch a nationwide "Name the Field Museum's T.rex" contest beginning Tuesday, January 27.

The dinosaur was named "Sue" by The Black Hills Institute, a commercial fossil dealer, in honor of Susan Hendrickson, who found the skeleton in 1990. The Field Museum, with the help of corporate and individual donors, purchased the 65 million-year old T. rex on October 4 at Sotheby's auction house in New York.  Contributing sponsors for the T. rex acquisition include McDonald's Corporation, Walt Disney World Resort, the California State University System, and private individuals.

The Field Museum has tried unsuccessfully to reach agreement with the Black Hills Institute over use of the name "Sue."  The Institute claims ownership of the name.  Although The Field Museum believes there is no legal basis for this claim, the Museum was concerned that continuing discussions and lack of resolution would take time and attention away from important research and educational objectives.

"Throughout the country, people have been watching the developments involving  our acquisition and preparation of the biggest and most complete T. rex ever  discovered," said Laura D. Gates, Vice President of Museum Affairs for The Field Museum.

"The public can now participate in naming it, beginning a new chapter in the history of this most unique dinosaur.  Our contest will help move this exciting  project forward," she added.

The "Name The Field Museum's T. rex" contest will begin January 27 and run through February 20, with the winner announced on or about March 12.  The  contest is open to children in kindergarten through sixth grade during the 1997 school year.  The grand prize will be a brand new Compaq Presario computer system with advanced multimedia  features.  In addition to other software, the computer will come with an  Encyclopedia Brittannica CD98 and dinosaur software.  Field Museum dinosaur T-shirts will be awarded to 100 runners-up.

Contest entrants should suggest an imaginative one-word name, not necessarily a person's name.  The entry should also include the child's reason for his or  her choice, written in 25 words or less.  The entry will be judged on the following:
 

 *  How well the description of the name suggests a personality for the  T. rex - 25 points.

 *  How well the description of the name captures the special, one-of-a-kind qualities of the T. rex - 25 points.

 *  How easy the name is for kids to pronounce - 10 points.

 *  How well the name appeals to people of all ages - 10 points.

 *  How memorable and lasting the name would be - 10 points.

 *  Overall creativity and appeal of the name - 20 points.


Contest entry forms and information about the T. rex are available from the Museum's web site at www.fmnh.org, or forms can be picked up at the Museum's  Information Desk in Stanley Field Hall. In addition, contest entry forms will  be available in the following newspapers:  The January 27, February 3 and  February 10 issues of the Chicago Tribune's Kid's News; the January 30 and  February 6 issues of the Chicago Sun Times, and Exito; and the January 31 and  February 7 issues of the Daily Defender.

The contest will kick-off a multi-year educational program by The Field Museum  and McDonald's in which educational materials covering the discovery and  importance of the T. rex will be distributed to schools nationwide.

In addition, the Museum is scheduled to open its new McDonald's Fossil Preparation Laboratory in May. The lab will be a state-of-the art research  facility where Museum visitors can view the preparation of the T. rex. Some of the dinosaur's bones will also be prepared by Field Museum scientists in a second lab, scheduled to open this spring in Orlando, Florida.

After the fossil is completely prepared, it will be mounted for display at The  Field Museum in the year 2000.
 

SOURCE  Field Museum of Natural History


Another article....
 

  Museum asks kids to name dinosaur
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sue is big. Sue is scary. Sue is all bones -- and
soon could be Mary.
    Or any other name officials from Chicago's Field museum pick from a
contest to be launched Tuesday to rename Sue, its nearly complete
Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton bought at auction in October 1997 for $8.3
million.
    U.S. children in kindergarten through sixth grade will have from
Tuesday to Feb. 20 to pick a new name for Sue.
    The winner, to be selected in March, will get a computer with dinosaur
software, museum spokeswoman Nancy O'Shea said.
    The dinosaur was nicknamed Sue by the Black Hills Institute in
commemoration of Susan Hendrickson who found the T-rex bones in South
Dakota in 1990. Ownership of the name has been claimed by the institute and
disputed by the museum.
    ``They claim the name is theirs and we disagree with them and rather
than continue our discussion we want to move the project forward and we
feel the best way to move it forward is to give it a new name,'' O'Shea
said.
    Michael Parrish, a paleontologist at Northern Illinois University in
DeKalb and research associate at the Field museum, said Sue was one of the
most spectacular dinosaur skeletons ever found because it was nearly
complete.
    It is expected to be ready for exhibit at the Chicago Field museum in
2000.
    Tyrannosaurus rex is believed to be the biggest carnivore to roam
prehistoric Earth about 65 million years ago.

All of these poor folks are too old to enter the contest! But they have a few kewl ideas, don't they (at least for old people)?

* Given that I and my wife (the most important Sue in my life!) are not able
to enter the contest, having passed the sixth grade some time ago, we might as well post our first suggestions here:

What should we call "Sue"?:
 

1) Law-suit-o-saurus (isn't that that basal ornithischian from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa...)
2) Regina
3) The Dinosaur Formerly Known as "Sue"  (Hey, if Prince can do it...)
4) Dakota
5) Sioux
6) Soo
7) Sioux City Sue (okay, Windy City Sue...)
8) "Ma'am!"
9) Anything she wants...
and
10) Manospondylus gigas  (no, not THAT!!! :-S  )
I always liked Dynamosaurus imperiosus myself.
Dr. Thomas Holtz

* How about Zsuzsa? (That's "Sue" in Hungarian.) --T. Mike Keesey

* Actually I don't understand -- We can't call it "Sue" anymore because
the Black Hills Institute claims ownership of the name "Sue"??  Where's
Groucho Marx when we need him??!!

(When the Marx Brothers made _Night in Casablanca_, Warner Brothers tried  to sue them for their alleged appropriation of the title of a popular
 Bogart-Bergman movie.  Performing a _reductio ad absurdum_ on this
 ridiculous lawsuit, Groucho threatened to file a counter-suit against
 Warner Brothers for their violation of the Marx Brothers' "copyright" on
 the word "Brothers"!)                          -- Dave
 

* I'd've thought that the new name for "The Dinosaur Formerly Known as Sue"
would've been obvious:

       Exorbitantosaurus moneypitensis

* How about Waz$ue?  (From the Upper Greenback Formation.) - Mary
 

* Stephan Pickering has made "Sue" the type specimen of the new species
_Tyrannosaurus stanwinstonorum_ in a self-published paleozine.

* Cope-a-setic? - Betty Cunningham

* Considering all the legal hassles in Sue's history, "Sue" is very apt. - rich

* For your consideration:Ouchamisaur. Rip.

* Well I'ld contributeEric and/or EricaBut that's expected of me. There's always

Hopeasaurus  - The dinosaur parody of the Hope Diamond (everyone who touches it gets bad luck) or, in these corporate times,

McSaurus - After you know who (it was their money after all).

After the movie "Free Willy" and the going's on in the White house at the
moment, you could try - Big Willy - Second thoughts, let's not go down that path. Cheers,Paul

* "Tyrannosaura regina" -        Alaric Shapli

* Well, as far as it goes, my mother's name is Sue.  I'm
sure I could get her permission to name the dinosaur
after her.  She wouldn't mind! :-)  Then we could still
call it Sue.  - Randy King

* How about "Trixie"? - JMN

* Perhaps a variation: Trexie? T.Rixie? (pronounced "Ta Rexie") -  Rich Travsky

 * Rhonda Minnie McDonaldmouse?

* "Mickey" - ...as in Mickey Mouse and Mickey D's (McDonald's).  The parsimonious choice.

* "Windy" - ...especially gratifying if you realize that this appellation was
originally assigned to "the windy city" not on account of its climate, but
all the ballyhoo which touted the Columbian Exposition about a hundred
years ago. Ralph Miller III

* From Norway --- "
        Jo Vaagan 1/30/98 2:22
     Subject:
        New name for Sue...
 

I have vitnessed this discussion for several days now, but I still don`t understand why this is a big deal. The Tyrannosaurus rex which was named Sue, why do we have to give her a new name. And WHY don`t we just call her Sue, or the Tyrannosaurus rex, which after all is her original name .
What is wrong with that?? I just don`t understand why all of you people are arguing about this !!!!

But..after all....this is just MY opinion....:-)

* Why not call her "Sue the Black Hills Institute"? - Chris Straughn

Field Museum of Natural History - Sue Website
Sothebys Auction Gallery -  Sue Website

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