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101 points

Ackchually, oil is mostly from plant matter.

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52 points
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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

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28 points

A more entertaining source:

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

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

Edit: typo

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10 points

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.

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16 points

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.

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6 points

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

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3 points

Nah, coal is plant matter too.

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8 points

Trees from before anything existed that could break down wood

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1 point

Yeah, that’s what I said!

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2 points

I guess algae and bacteria are close to plants.

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3 points

How close? Like cousins or Alabama cousins?

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3 points

Not really, especially in this science sub

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9 points

And non-plants like algae and bacteria.

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