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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website Note: this version of the film dates from 1953. A revised version of the film can also be seen on our Youtube channel from the 1960s. Created in the year 1953 by the Shell Oil Company, “The Fossil Story“ explains the importance of fossils to geologists who are searching for oil, and examines the role of paleontologists in interpreting the nature of the pre-historic world. This film was one of a series created by Shell to educate the public about geology, oil exploration, and the petroleum industry in general in this period. In this film, Shell Oil situates its extractive process as an episode within geologic time, naturalizing its products even as it inspires wonder. It contrasts the impatience of the suburban husband wanting to drive his car against the expansive scale of fossil history. According to Shell, with the drilling of oil, “The cycle is complete. Nat
