Early paleontology was rife with speculation. Major breakthroughs in the field entailed discovering a few bones at a time, meaning that most dinosaurs were far more actualized in the public imagination than in reality. This posed a problem to museum curators in the 1860s and 1870s: Do you stick to proper contemporary anatomical understandings of dinosaurs? Or do you embrace the sheer spectacle of the dinosaur as the apex predator of a bygone era?
Predictably, an ethical divide emerged between academics (like Edward Cope, who believed the bones were enough of a marvel in and of themselves) and populists (like P.T. Barnum, who believed that a full skeleton would appeal more to the masses—and their wallets) on how to handle the presentation of dinosaurs. For their part, most museum curators fell somewhere between the two extremes, with a leaning towards paleontology as an art more than a science. Reasoning that more elaborate dinosaur depictions would yield greater profit to funnel into academic research, curators designed exhibits with their educated guess at what dinosaurs might look like. Often, this produced dinosaurs that were unusually lizard-like, or with other bizarre anatomical features, as shown in the drawing below:
Source for image: The World Before the Deluge (1865)
Amid burgeoning efforts to commercialize the incomplete image of the dinosaur, one prominent figure stood against all sensationalist efforts. Othniel Charles Marsh was a professor at Yale University, a founding curator at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, and a leading authority in the nascent stages of paleontology. With a discerning eye for authentic fossils (during an era when fakes were rampant), Marsh was a stickler for accuracy in paleontology. Consequently, he was a stalwart for academics, and loathed the sensationalism that swept away the science behind his studies.
Marsh was so outraged by the speculative displays at museums that—starting in 1875—he withheld Peabody materials from any museum that “should engage with [the study of paleontology] in a manner unbefitting or untruthful towards science.” Given the unmatched resources of the Peabody Museum, this was a powerful threat. Othniel Marsh was unsuccessful in his efforts to fully curtail speculative paleontological presentations in museums, but the number of such “artistic” displays notably declined throughout the remainder of the 1870s.
For the remainder of his professional career, Marsh would defend the image of the dinosaur from spurious imaginations. Even today, his legacy persists. Marsh named 19 genera of dinosaur that are still in use, and his initial donations to the Peabody Museum helped establish its modern cultural significance. He is a titan of professional paleontology.
His personal relationship with paleontology was much different.
Tucked away in Marsh’s private manuscripts are various pieces of literature—with the earliest works dating back to 1866—that enter speculative territory. Hidden from his contemporary public’s view, these private speculations were wholly unscientific, insofar that they are most comparable to fan-fiction. Put simply, when Marsh wasn’t engaging in strict, professional scholarship about paleontology, he daydreamed about and invented information about dinosaurs.
One cannot overstate that these manuscripts were only found in Marsh’s private archives. They did not see external publication until long after his death, nor did any of Marsh’s “creativity” seem to interfere with his scholastic endeavors. With that in mind, Marsh was a prolific writer of dinosaur fanfiction. While the writings began in 1866, the final manuscript dates December of 1898, just four months before Marsh’s death. In other words, he wrote various speculative fiction about dinosaurs for over 30 years.
Predictably, new paleontological discoveries were quickly incorporated into Marsh’s writing. For example, after discovering and naming the genera Diracodon in 1881, Marsh introduced them within his literary universe in an entry from March of 1882. Characterizing the species within the genera as “[p]ossessing the sturdiness of a father, yet the affable nature of a kindly brother,” Marsh projected a set of traits onto the genera with no basis in reality. In all likelihood, Marsh’s speculations on a given species’ personality were derived from their (often gendered) physiology; the larger dinosaurs were more paternalistic and aggressive, while the smaller dinosaurs were feminine and protective. Of course, a physiology-based interpretation also requires speculation into exactly what a given dinosaur’s physiology would be, thereby marking an immediate contrast between Marsh, the academic—who would surely reject such presumptuous descriptions—and Marsh, the creative writer.
Although I am hesitant to hypothesize too deeply into Marsh’s psyche, it is interesting to note how often he wrote about dinosaurs in terms of their role within a hypothetical family. From the aforementioned fatherly Diracodon, to the “slender and fertile” Ammosaurus (a comment that precedes pages of extensive speculation into the species’ reproductive habits and methods), Marsh routinely assessed dinosaurs in a manner that mimicked the structure of the nuclear family. Marsh himself was a lifelong bachelor, making the continuity even more peculiar. Was Marsh’s dinosaur fanfiction an outlet for more deep-seated frustrations about his inability to start a family? Perhaps it is a stretch, but it isn’t an empty assertion.
Othniel Charles Marsh passed away before the turn of the 20th century, but his cultural footprint trudges far into the 21st century. His eccentric hobby was not discovered until long after his death, when a graduate student at Yale University began reading through Marsh’s personal library in 1913. Whether out of respect for the privacy of the dead, or recognizing the dubious implications his creative work would have on his legacy, these personal manuscripts weren’t published until the 1990s, when the quirks of a deceased paleontologist—and dinosaurs as a whole—had long since escaped public focus.

This belonged to my father and it included this scrap of paper. The more I have started researching this the more intrigued I've become. The closest thing I have come across to this is in the Met! (link). What do I have here???
Apologies for the poor quality photos, it was difficult to capture the engravings.

Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey. We received 486 responses and many thoughtful comments and critiques.
TL;DR for speedreaders:

• We will maintain Jujutsushi as a catered subreddit for text-based, in-depth manga discussion.
• Powerscaling rules are staying the same.
• Yuji powerup threads are now permitted during Free For All Friday.
• Free For All Friday is staying. We will be stricter with removing repetitive/low-quality posts on other days.
• We are introducing a minimum comment karma requirement for posts on the sub.
• You can now submit frequently asked questions to an anon Google Form and we'll consider them for the weekly FAQ.
• You can now report posts for being clearly disproven or answered by the manga.
• Character flairs soon
• Monthly Roundup thread soon

Vision for the Sub

Look at the results below for favored content (up to 2 options).
https://preview.redd.it/sdu320vqy0qa1.png?width=994&format=png&auto=webp&s=d15e429f0d3b9d4ad9cad26a2ee5d186331f53ee
This data, alongside user feedback, is a thermometer that we are using to cater the subreddit.
The #1 favored type of content is Discussion and Analysis at an overwhelming 69%, with #2 and 3, Theories and Lore/Research, a substantial ~35% behind. Powerscaling is the least favored type of content at 12%. We will continue to maintain space for powerscaling on JJS since it is a shounen manga and powerscalers are, while a minority, very passionate and active here.
Our goal as a team is to make decisions with the intent of characterizing Jujutsushi in the way that it is uniquely valued in the English-speaking Jujutsu Kaisen community: a catered subreddit for text-based, quality manga discussion. There are other subs for memes, art, shitposting, free-range powerscaling, and free-range or repeat newbie questions/theories. On JJS, these topics are focused to specific, weekly days and megathreads so we can maintain this level of quality through translation notes, essays, research, and analysis.
Keep this vision in mind as you skim the rest of this post. Let's check out the results of the rule changes.

Rule Changes and Updates

Powerscaling: No changes.

The majority opinion is that the powerscaling rules are fine as is. A decent percentage is interested in bringing back Saturday free posting so we may revisit this vote as the sub grows. We also recently began default sorting leaks and powerscaling threads by New, and received positive feedback on that.
https://preview.redd.it/r89quheyy0qa1.png?width=990&format=png&auto=webp&s=827daff831fbbb9997b9abceacd860222491831c

Yuji Powerup Threads: Minor changes.

The majority want to keep this topic tempbanned. We had a few comments asking to allow tempbanned topics on Free For All Friday and think this is a good idea. Going forward, we will call these "retired topics" and allow them 1 day per week, on Free For All Friday.
https://preview.redd.it/yvx9f3m4z0qa1.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=c41838bed55ede1e06158f5ff77f30d53af567ae

Free For All Friday: No changes.

The majority of respondent opinions want to keep FFA Friday, which allows for memey/shitposting/headcanon/crack theory content (but not leaks still). Going forward, we will be more stringent on quality when reviewing posts overall but will allow more shenanigans on Fridays in exchange. Genuinely low-effort and duplicate posts will still be filtered out on Fridays.
https://preview.redd.it/b26vvcrcz0qa1.png?width=990&format=png&auto=webp&s=8a44d941ca9efee30603bc8881083693b5034b5f

New: Minimum Karma Requirement for Posts

We are piloting a new feature, a minimum comment karma requirement of 500 for self posts on the sub. Many survey feedback comments requested stricter moderation of low-quality posts. We believe a karma requirement will encourage new subscribers to spend time in comment sections before making their own posts. It will filter out "low quality" posts and repeat questions/topics while maintaining a standard for quality content. This is a common, almost ubiquitous feature in medium-large subreddits, and our 50k members are no small number.
​

New: Submit Frequently Asked Questions for the Weekly Thread

If there are any questions you see frequently posted which are a common source of confusion, submit them to this form which will be available in the sidebar and megathread. The form will be open indefinitely and checked regularly by mods for updates.
We encourage everyone to browse the Thursday Questions and FAQ thread and see if they can answer questions!
​

New: Report Posts Contradicted or Answered by the Manga

We recently added an option to report posts for being clearly disproven or answered by the manga. Content like this can be redirected to the Thursday FAQ thread.
Consider the report button your loudest vote on posts because it gets sent directly to our inbox.

Demographics

Here's the juice everyone is waiting for.
https://preview.redd.it/liocj60lz0qa1.png?width=985&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ccdd62523196e90adb4a4083003eb0ab9c221e8
Daily comment/posters are at 2.5%. Occasional lurkers at 6.8%.
https://preview.redd.it/yia04kcnz0qa1.png?width=986&format=png&auto=webp&s=0a1eb384ee82ddb18a5b1f28d4d8a9b1e8888bcf
80% of the sub reads leaks. (no one was surprised)
We received many comments commending the rules for keeping leaks in the Wednesday megathread.
6 people said they didn't know what leaks are. Go read the rules lmao
https://preview.redd.it/fg8vy0xqz0qa1.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=413a52230ed818b3cc1fdf46508f08d94653c9c1
6.6% were spoiled in the past year. 5.3% in the week before the survey. 3% over a year ago. 92 total people reported being spoiled by leaks in the past year, with 76 total in the past few months. We've had the most leaks reported with Yuki vs Kenjaku, Sukuna's appearance and bodysnatching, and any time Yuta appears.
Not a bad record but we can do better. Stay sharp and keep it secret. Smash that report button to mark stray leaks for termination by Takada-chwanBot.
https://preview.redd.it/6np6h3xvz0qa1.png?width=977&format=png&auto=webp&s=7cf52302be2a887ab1216b04574c5b4c7a7edf7f
https://preview.redd.it/rlje2i3xz0qa1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=289f5cc31f482de9b545647a6488b875cfc5ad92
I feel like a disappointed parent and this does not surprise me, at all. (Cindersnap)
Read the official databook aka "Fanbook" from Gege Akutami as an album of scans and translations or here as a searchable text doc, a conglomeration of several different Japanese-speakers' work. It contains character profiles, info on Cursed Techniques, a Gege Q&A, and a ton of details completely exclusive to the Fanbook. There is currently no official English version. Linked on the sub wiki.
https://preview.redd.it/cgsr6ic101qa1.png?width=981&format=png&auto=webp&s=212b3e076b6f58cfd8983a59c2f49056015f3e02
If you're looking for more community, try out the affiliated Discord. We post links and scans for leaks and have lively manga, leaks, translation, and powerscaling chats rolling, plus some other variety. There's a weekly manga prediction bingo, and we livestream JJK events with some occasional on-the-fly translations. If you've written a popular Reddit post, chances are it's been shared in here.
https://preview.redd.it/nzlu9vr301qa1.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=a4ea1c70d2bd586b28585c82c713b280f8cb5647
Lots of ESL folks here. 3rd place is at 4.5%. We may do an irl demographics survey in the future.
https://preview.redd.it/6cs2fibc01qa1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=b63c3baea2577dbcd99c9fc0ec361aa26c132d73
#1 is no surprise. Congrats to fans of the curse-kisser himself!
Yuta Okkotsu, huh? I don't really get what everyone sees in him. I’m personally disappointed it’s not Choso (/joking.)

Upcoming Changes

Character Flairs Soon
We will shortly post a megathread where anyone can submit and vote on suggestions for character flairs. Keeping Cog of Excellence flairs on people swapping flairs is going to be a pain so if anyone knows a way around this, leave a comment.
Monthly Roundup Thread Soon™
Some users have suggested a roundup thread where people can link and vote on popular and outstanding posts from the past month. We plan to organize this within the next few weeks.
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That's all for the survey. We're excited to see the sub growing and are sincerely looking forward to introducing new features and events. We've read all of your personal comments and critiques, and have a handful of ideas for the next several months. Feel free to discuss with us below.
Happy 50k!