I have given this some (probably too much) thought. I think the dodo is a fair suggestion for the older generations (among whom I count myself) but I do not feel it is as significant a part of the cultural baggage of the younger generations, and therefore not of the population as a whole. I have not heard the phrase "dead as a dodo" much recently (nor, indeed, "dead as a doornail", alas poor Marley!) My two-year-old nephew, for instance, can reliably identify a T. Rex, and indeed a triceratops and stegosaurus, but I doubt has any familiarity with a dodo.
Alright, I have done some research using the resident members of the younger generation, 8 and 10. Slightly to my surprise (though I probably should have known better, especially as one has a special interest in all areas of biology) both did enthusiastically agree to having heard of a dodo, and could prove they knew what was meant ("An extinct flightless bird", "with a big beak!"); only one had heard of archeopteryx ("flying dinosaur with a long neck", good enough.) When asked to rank the three contenders in order of most to least famous, both firmly agreed that it was T. Rex first, then the dodo, with archeopteryx a long way behind :-)
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Date: 2016-10-02 07:19 pm (UTC)Alright, I have done some research using the resident members of the younger generation, 8 and 10. Slightly to my surprise (though I probably should have known better, especially as one has a special interest in all areas of biology) both did enthusiastically agree to having heard of a dodo, and could prove they knew what was meant ("An extinct flightless bird", "with a big beak!"); only one had heard of archeopteryx ("flying dinosaur with a long neck", good enough.) When asked to rank the three contenders in order of most to least famous, both firmly agreed that it was T. Rex first, then the dodo, with archeopteryx a long way behind :-)