Lincoln's Pocket Watch & Cambodian Dinosaurs

Two stories caught my attention this evening (and yes, it was a light posting day for the Oklahomilist).

The first is a story about Abraham Lincoln's pocketwatch, and a secret engraving inside it. A rumor that was passed down for decades until the Smithsonian verified it recently.

WASHINGTON — For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch. On Tuesday, museum curators confirmed it was true. A watchmaker used tiny tools to carefully pry open the antique watch at the National Museum of American History, and a descendant of the engraver read aloud the message from a metal plate underneath the watch face.

"Jonathan Dillon April 13 - 1861," part of the inscription reads, "Fort Sumpter (sic) was attacked by the rebels on the above date." Another part reads, "Thank God we have a government."

Mystery solved. For the history buff, a must read.

The second story is an unsolved mystery. There is a sculpture of a stegosaurus at an ancient temple in Cambodia, a temple built before dinosaur bones began to be collected and studied, and well after stegosauri are thought to have departed the planet.

The web article includes a lot of photos and a little bit of print, and one large question: Did the ancient Khmer actually see a stegosaurus so that they knew how to depict one?

The answer holds uncomfortable implications for the "settled" science.