Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Sunday

[itsananomaly]

Cutter and Connor had been talking about spending a few days on the mainland, having their first official weekend trip away and they decided that for the first day they were going to visit the National Museum of Natural History. After some searching, Cutter had found a nice hotel for them to stay at, which was courtesy of Lester’s credit card.

They had left Fandom early that morning via a portal, which Cutter was still taking some getting used to but he was getting a lot better about them and after they had dropped off their bags at the hotel, they went to the museum, which Cutter was finding that he was extremely excited about and couldn’t wait to start exploring.

Once they were inside, he looked around excitedly, “where should we start first?” he asked Connor, trying to take in everything and figuring out what direction they should go in.

[for the boyfriend, who is modded with permission and NFB due to distance!]

Comments

[itsananomaly]

"That's very true, I mean look at the size of those incisors," Cutter gushed as he took in the display, "even though this one doesn't seem to have the p3 premolar tooth," he was getting as close as he could to the glass without setting off the security alarm, "most of the later species don't have the p3 premolar, " he added as he took in the Smilodon with wide eyes.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor was barely looking at the display at this point, his attention was fully fixed on Cutter with a broad, admiring grin. Really, he could stand there and watch him gush and fanboy like this all day.

"Is that.... something expected? An evolutionary trait of the later species, or is it just a quick no one really understands yet?"

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled, “the evidence seems to suggest that that it was common for the early specimens of Smilodon to have the p3 premolar but it wasn’t present in later specimens, in particular the Lujanian and the Rancholabrean didn’t have them at all,” he gushed excitedly, as he took in the display, “I mean the Smilodons only went extinct 10,000 years ago … in terms of general evolutionary history that’s fairly recent,” he grinned.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor just nodded, that smile still plastered on his face, enjoying how much Cutter was already enjoying himself. "Drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things really."

[itsananomaly]

And Cutter hadn’t even gotten to trilobites yet - Connor was going to have a hard time dragging him away from those displays, “evolution is truly remarkable,” he gushed, “to think that there once were big cats roaming North America but that they couldn’t survive against nature, even a creature such as the Smilodon,”

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Always thought it was really amazing... how sometimes the smallest difference between related species made all the difference" Connor said with a grin. "Longer claws, different teeth, specialized feeding... there were so many things that made a difference in what species survived and which ones did not."

And he would be content to stay at one exhibit all day if it was what Cutter wanted to do- of course seeing more would be nice, but he was not going to complain- they both were enjoying themselves and that is all that mattered.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter nodded as he took in the display a bit longer, "it is truly fascinating to see what species survive and which ones don't, some can live for millions of years and others for thousands," his eyes gleamed at that and then he paused, "I suppose if we want to see other exhibits we should get moving and try and see what else we can find?" he said a bit sheepishly, "did you want to try and head to the fossil lab now while we still have a bit of time?"

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Sounds good... we can always circle back around later if we have time" Connor said. "But that fossil lab looked amazing, so definitely want to get over there before we leave. I... I've never been on a dig or anything, so this just sounds absolutely amazing to watch."

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled, “you are going to love it,” he said confidently, “you know, if you wanted I could get probably get us a spot on one of the digs that the university sponsors fairly regularly before my sabbatical ends, we could go on one together, depending on what your major ends up being, it would even count towards your degree,”

There was absolutely nothing wrong with planning things this far in advance was there?

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"That would be bloody amazing, Nick... I... I would really like that" Connor said with a sincere smile. "It would be amazing to get to do that, especially with you."

And no, no problems with long term plans at all.

[itsananomaly]

"Then I'll have a look and see what digs the university is doing in the summer and see which one works best for us and make arrangements to get us on the dig," Cutter smiled warmly at that, "I would love to be able to go on a dig with you, it's been a while since I last went on one and being able to share this experience with you ... I would really love to do this," he started to go a little red.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Can't think of a better way to spend the summer- traveling someplace special, getting to do something amazing like that... with you..." Connor smiled. "Even if it doesn't count towards uni or anything, I would really like to share that experience with you too, Nick." he said with a warm smile, his own face going a little red at that too.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled happily at that, “I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer,” he grinned and then after a moments hesitation he wrapped his arms around Connor tightly, “it will be perfect, getting to go on a dig somewhere, you can experience your first dig, going to the fossil lab will be a massive help for that, you’ll learn about some of the techniques that we use when we’re on a dig,”

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor blinked in surprise at the sudden hug for a second but then returned it firmly with a smile of his own.

"Let's get to that lab then" he said, hugging Cutter tightly. "I can't wait!"

[itsananomaly]

“Let’s” Cutter agreed happily, holding on as tight as he could, “it will be incredible to watch, I’m looking forward to it,”

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor grinned and reluctantly let go, grabbing Cutter's hand in his with a warm smile and lead them on their way.

It didn't take long until they reached their destination and Connor stood there in stunned amazement, just trying to take it all in. He had never seen anything like this before and it was his turn to gawk and stare.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled as he watched Connor’s expression while he took it in, “what they’re doing now is removing the limestone from the fossils,” he explained in a low voice, “prior to being taken here, they use a chemical called paraloid, which helps soften the limestone and then it will also protect the fossils from the acid that they use to clean it,” he whispered in a low voice as he began to explain the process that they were using to clean the fossils.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor really was in full student mode at that point, listening and watching what was going on, trying to take it all in. This was something he had always found fascinating and being able to see it, and learn about it like this, he couldn't keep the broad grin off of his face.

"I always wondered how they got the rock and all off without damaging the bones and breaking them in the process."

[itsananomaly]

“They use acetic acid, which is vinegar,” Cutter explained with a smile, “limestone dissolves - and then there will be carbon dioxide bubbles on the surface,” he nodded at the staff who were working on different fossils, “these fossils have had their limestone dissolved, they use fresh water to flush any calcium salts, these ones are about to have their first clean,” he said excitedly.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor listened and watched completely enthralled. At some point he noticed a few people had wandered over and wear watching as well. He couldn't tell if they were just watching the staff at work or if they were also listening to Cutter talk. But it made him smile in any case.

"How long does it take to clean a fossil like that?" he asked with a nod toward one in particular that looked like it was a partial skull from a crocodilian or some similar creature.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter hadn’t even noticed that there seemed to be more people around as he explained the process that they were using in the lab, “once the cleaning process has started, something of that size would take a few hours at least, once they use either the air chisel or the fine tipped drill, it’s very delicate work so they have to be careful when they begin chipping away at the rock, it can easily shatter otherwise, ” he explained as he watched what the staff were doing while they cleaning the fossils.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor nodded again, a grin on his face as he listened.

"And sometimes the actual fossils aren't what is put on display right? They make casts of some of the bones and fossils and display those instead."

[itsananomaly]

“That’s correct,” Cutter smiled warmly as he nodded, “sometimes the fossils are too fragile to put on display, they can be damaged by vibration or with changes in temperature and humidity, so the museums will put casts of the fossils on display and then they will store the actual fossils in a more controlled environment so they can continue their research,” he explained.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"And not every fossil gets completely removed and cleaned up right?" Connor was definitely feeding questions to Cutter at this point, and there were definitely at least a few people hanging around listening to him as well. "Some fossils like trilobites, usually stay encased in the stone they are found in to an extent?" And yes there was a huge grin on his face as he brought up that one fossil type specifically.

[itsananomaly]

Oh you definitely knew a way to a man’s heart Connor and Cutter’s eyes lit up at the mention of Trilobites, and he had started to notice the crowd of people who were listening at this point, “correct again, trilobites often remain in the rock that they are found in … it depends on the type of trilobite that is found … for example lower Cambrian trilobites, you can see the whole specimen if you prepare it in a certain way but most of the time, the trilobite is buried in the rock and is only partially revealed,”

“Cleaning a trilobite can prove to be rather difficult and is not without its set of challenges,” Cutter continued because he was going in full on geek out mode here and yes, maybe he was playing up to the audience who had gathered round at this point, “the rocks themselves can be impossible to penetrate such as the ones in Canadian quarries or they could be found in Russian shales and they can shatter too easily,”