this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
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Science Memes

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The circle of life (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 months ago by HootinNHollerin to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 101 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Ackchually, oil is mostly from plant matter.

[–] dohpaz42 52 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

TIL

Does Oil Come From Dinosaur Fossils?

It’s a commonly spread fiction that oil comes from dinosaurs because when people hear fossils, their brains immediately jump to dinosaurs. However, that’s not the case.

The truth may be less exciting to some, but oil and other fossil fuels are not actually formed from the remains of dinosaurs. The oil we’re drilling and pumping to the surface as fuel is formed from diatoms, small organisms such as algae and bacteria that lived long before dinosaurs even existed. Source

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A more entertaining source:

https://what-if.xkcd.com/101/

[–] dohpaz42 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

We need to induct Randal into the wholesome four at some point.

Edit: typo

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Induct? Or has he committed a crime I'm not aware of?

[–] dohpaz42 5 points 4 months ago

The crime of being wholesome and helping other people!!

Ok, autocorrect hates me. Thanks for pointing that out.

[–] essell 10 points 4 months ago (3 children)

I am under the impression that's coal.

Oil is from sea life. Though I did read that in the 80s so entirely possible its nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yes and no. They're both hydrocarbons.

Coal is organic matter from dry land, so typically plants.

Oil is from organic matter that fell to the ocean floor, so microbial life, algae and the like.

But both are from and end up as the same types of organic molecules. Carbon and hydrogen.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Wow ok that's cool.. so then every* oil well is in a place that historically was underwater?

[–] Cornelius_Wangenheim 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yes, specifically shallow seas that are so rich that they go anoxic. Without oxygen, the organisms don't break down and just accumulate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Can Texas just go back to being a shallow anoxic sea?

Please?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yes. A lot of such places are still below the seabed, hence off-shore oil-rigs.

[–] grandkaiser 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Nah, coal is plant matter too.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

Trees from before anything existed that could break down wood

[–] essell 1 points 4 months ago

Yeah, that's what I said!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I guess algae and bacteria are close to plants.

[–] essell 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How close? Like cousins or Alabama cousins?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Louisiana cousins I believe.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Not really, especially in this science sub

[–] Akareth 10 points 4 months ago

And non-plants like algae and bacteria.