“I think I’m making progress on this whole ‘flight’ thing.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! It seems like if I sort of splay the bones out over here, and then I stretch the skin over, I can make a membrane that the Sharovipteryx can use to glide from tree to tree.”

“Hmm. That sounds like the right general idea, evolution, but…”

“I mean, I’ll probably refine some details over time, like maybe I’ll let them flap up and down a bit or add some feathers to catch more air. But I think this might be the big break.”

“I don’t know, evolution. I’m not really sure you’ve got it yet.”

“Just imagine! If this works out, then in a few hundred million years, there’ll be leg-flappers all over the place.”

“Imagine that…”

“‘Spread your legs and fly,’ they’ll say.”

“Maybe just sleep on it, okay?”

Source: Wikimedia Commons / Nobu Tamura / licensed under CC BY 3.0