Science explains why the dragons on Game of Thrones are impossible, ruins fun for everyone

The dragons on Game of Thrones are pretty realistic, or at least as realistic as a fictional flying fire-breathing lizard can be. Just ask paleontologist Rodrigo Pêgas, who led a team of scientists that discovered a new type of pterosaur — a flying dinosaur, essentially. He named the creature “Targaryendraco wiedenrothi” in honor of House Targaryen, and lauded Martin for keeping his dragons “anatomically correct” by giving them two legs instead of four.

But how realistic are they really? Could Martin’s dragons function in the world today as we know it? According to the killjoys at Tech Insider, no. Learn why not:

So the basic idea is that the wings on the dragons aren’t large enough relative to their bodies for them to attain liftoff, nor are their legs big enough to push hard enough off the ground. And if their wings and legs were large enough, the amount of pressure needed to get airborne would shatter their bones, assuming their bones were made from materials of this Earth. And if the bones were thicker, they’d be too heavy for the creature to become airborne.

Tech Insider tries to toss fans a bone by suggesting that maybe the dragons’ bones are made of Valyrian steel, but that’s not how Valyrian steel works, so they might as well just admit they were bound and determined to crush our sense of whimsy and imagination. And they succeeded. I hope you’re happy, Tech Insider.

Just kidding, mostly. The notion of “realistic” fantasy creatures is a little upside-down to start with, but it is kind of amazing that George R.R. Martin put together a world that holds together so well we want to discuss the authenticity of things that are obviously fabricated. It’s some quality cognitive dissonance, and I love it dearly.

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