Many believe that dinosaurs and humans once coexisted, but most know that current technology doesn't allow for cloning dinosaurs from fossils
The recent release of Jurassic World broke records for the best opening weekend ever, taking in $208.8 million in North America. The film, which is a reboot of 1993's original Jurassic Park, focuses on a theme park which displays dinosaurs that have been cloned by taking the DNA from fossils.
YouGov's latest research shows that 41% of Americans think that dinosaurs and humans either 'definitely' (14%) or 'probably' (27%) once lived on the planet at the same time. 43% think that this is either 'definitely' (25%) or 'probably' (18%) not true while 16% aren't sure. In reality the earliest ancestors of humans have only been on the planet for 6 million years, while the last dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago.
There is a religious split on this question. While most Americans who describe themselves as 'born again' (56%) believe that humans and dinosaurs once shared the planet, most Americans who do not describe themselves as born again (51%) think that they did not. Only 22% of born again Americans think that dinosaurs and humans did not coexist.
When asked about the science that provides the fictional basis for the Jurassic Park movies, most Americans (54%) say that it is not currently possible to create dinosaur clones from DNA found in fossils while 28% believe that it is currently possible. Half the public also say that if there were a theme park like Jurassic Park, they would not go to visit while 40% say that they would.
The Jurassic Park movies have been widely watched. 71% of Americans say that they have seen the original and at least a third of the public have seen the earlier two sequels, The Lost World (43%) and Jurassic Park III (36%).
Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.
