Baby Dragon In A Bottle, Fact or Hoax Options

Greetings

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This is a photo of a baby dragon supposedly created by the Germans out of rubber in the early 1900's.

It turned up in a garage in Oxfordshire UK and was immediately dismissed as a hoax. Yet no x-ray or autopsy has ever been undertaken on it.

It may well be a hoax, but it is a perfect life like replica of a baby dragon. Yet ... why does the dragon appear to have an umbilical cord? I thought dragons were born out of eggs? Unless of course it is a baby draconian humanoid 'alien' ...

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A pickled "dragon" that looks as if it might once have flown around Hogwarts has been found in a garage in Oxfordshire.

Yesterday the baby dragon, in a sealed 30in jar, was in the office of Allistair Mitchell, who runs a marketing company in Oxford. He was asked to investigate by his friend, David Hart, from Sutton Courtenay, who discovered it.

A metal tin found with the dragon contained paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s. Mr Mitchell speculates that German scientists may have attempted to use the dragon to hoax their English counterparts in the 1890s, when rivalry between the countries was intense.

"At the time, scientists were the equivalent of today's pop stars. It would have been a great propaganda coup for the Germans if it had come off.

"I've shown the photos to someone from Oxford University and he thought it was amazing. Obviously he could not say if it was real and wanted to do a biopsy."


The documents suggest that the Natural History Museum turned the dragon away, possibly because they suspected it was a trick, and sent it to be destroyed. But it appears a porter intercepted the jar and took it home. The papers suggest the porter may have been Frederick Hart - David Hart's grandfather.

Mr Mitchell said: "The dragon is flawless, from the tiny teeth to the umbilical cord. It could be made from indiarubber, because Germany was the world's leading manufacturer of it at the time, or it could be made of wax. It has to be fake. No one has ever proved scientifically that dragons exist. But everyone who sees it immediately asks, 'Is it real?' "

Yesterday the Natural History Museum said that it was interested in following up the find.

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Was the "someone" at the University a first-year undergraduate? Possibly studying politics, or something equally unrelated? And, were they perhaps in the Kings Arms at the time? And had they had several pints of Old Speckled Hen at the commencement of the quest for scientific verification session?

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More seriously, my insider knowledge (I worked there for a very short time a few years ago) tells me that the chaps at the Natural History Museum probably loved this. They very often get sent boxes of "dinosaur bones" which people unearth in the process of hoeing the garden, and which turn out to be bits of deceased chicken or, on occasion, bone-shaped rubber dog toys. (No, really!) But a deliberate hoax, especially one with this degree of elaboration and craftsmanship, is a rare and interesting thing, and makes them feel loved and important. They probably rather enjoyed the concept and the artwork. If you visit the museum (I reccommend it, and so does the bestselling anti-tourist book B*ll*cks to Alton Towers: 100 Essentially British Days Out), there is (was?) a terrific exhibit on "future archaeology", with...well, I shan't spoil it.

But I'm glad someone has taken it upon themselves to enliven the NHM's interminable meetings with something more interesting than Buster's favourite chewy toy...

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Hmmm... not sure what type of dragon that is, the feet are wrong, my dragon doesn't have feet like that.