VERNAL, Utah, May 23, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — City officials updated citizens concerned about tail reattachment surgery underway after Vernal’s favorite 40-foot dinosaur statue had its knocked off.
A reportedly sleep-deprived motorist collided with Dinah, the city’s famous edifice just off Main Street. Hers was the only injury.
“Our beloved Dinah was injured yesterday in a traffic accident but she is so lucky to have the best healthcare at Vernal City’s own Jurassic Ward!” Vernal City announced online Thursday.
“In lieu of flowers, please send Dino puns. Dinah loves them.”
And the puns ensued in response on the city’s Facebook page:
“Driver: ‘Sorry didn’t mean to Tail-gate you like that!'” led the fray, followed by “He looks like he’s working his tail off.” Then “At least Dinah came away with a ‘cautionary tail’ about drowsy driving,” followed by “Our pink Brontosaurus became a Tyrannosaurus ‘Wrecks!”
And “T- rex? More like T-wrecked! I dunno. I tried.”
The 4,200 pound concrete and fiberglass monument was built in 1958. Just last year, the humanized, bipedal Dinah made it onto the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Which means any such remodeling as was attempted Wednesday must satisfy federal guidelines. (Maybe not quite a pun, but Gephardt Daily’s contribution to the quip fest.)
The area is home to Dinosaur National Monument, shared with Colorado. It features more than 1,500 dinosaur fossils exposed on the cliff face inside the Quarry Exhibit Hall at the park, its 211,000 acres part of the National Park Service.
