Bach Seat

Merry Christmas from T. rex. ‘Rex’ an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex at London’s Natural History Museum is sporting a giant ugly Christmas sweater. His ugly sweater sports a Stegosaurus-inspired snowflake pattern.

Despite what Steven Spielberg tells us T. rex did not have anything to do with the Jurassic period. Tyrannosaurus Rex lived during the Cretaceous period, about 50 million years after the end of the Jurassic. That means they would be used to much higher temperatures than we are today. So it makes sense that a modern T. rex would want a holiday sweater.

Carla Treasure, a buyer and product developer at London’s Natural History Museum, told the BBC they wanted to do something fun to encourage people back after a tough year of COVID lockdowns. Ms. Treasure said, “There is nothing more funny than a jumper fitted for a dinosaur that has the tiniest arms in the world.” She continued, “I think he looks absolutely fabulous …  we really wanted to do something which would generate interest.“

Ms. Treasue explained human-sized versions are available at the museum gift shop or online. Proceeds will help to fund the museum’s work. “All the proceeds from the sale of these jumpers goes back to supporting the museum, not only for its pioneering research but also caring for its 80m specimens.“

T.rex Ugly Christmas sweater

The Natural History Museum chose British Christmas Jumpers to make the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s ugly Christmas sweater. The UK-based firm was chosen because the T. rex sweater was manufactured using recycled yarn and plastic bottles.

Snahal Patel, director at British Christmas Jumpers, said T. rex’s ugly Christmas sweater was the company’s biggest job. It took staff 100 hours to complete. The jumper is 12 times heavier than a regular sweater.  He said,  “We’ve never done anything like this.“

Stay safe out there!

Related article

• How do you put a sweater on a T.rex? (YouTube)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.