h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Looks like a pig.

That's okay, pigs are okay in my book.

Reminds me of a funny anecdote: 17 years ago, I was preparing to go to the American Library Association convention in Atlanta. More than one well-meaning friend warned me to beware of the wild boars that were in the area.

Seriously? I was smack dab in the middle of a huge urban area. Were the boards supposed to be hiding behind people's hedges?

I'm glad that the huge, piglike animal pictured here had a happy life for itself. It wasn't destined to cross the isthmus into North America, given that said isthmus didn't exist yet, at lease not in its current location.

I'd be fascinated by more information about what he world was like when Antarctica was fastened to South America.

Hello Paulh! Sorta piggish, yeah. A boar infestation in Atlanta? Didn't know about that!

I'll do an article or few about the South America/Antarctica connection. It was there for a very long time. Of course around the Permian and some of the Triassic *everything* was connected in the continent of Pangaea. I'm researching just when and how Pangaea broke up into the various bits ...

Does Pangaea mean the whole planet?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pangea_animation_03.gif

Continental drift never went as fast as that!

Pangaea means 'whole Earth'.

Thanks for the animation Dmitri! On that one it's not clear to see what's happening between South America and Antarctica. I'm trying to find out just how long there was a traversable land bridge there …

If I run across anything, I'll let you know.

I remembered looking up the original configuration when I was writing the Guide Entry on Pittsburgh throughout history. I pointed out how close New Jersey was to North Africa at the time.