Are you part of the 10% of insane people who want the T-rex to return?

At least 10% of Americans have apparently never watched a science fiction movie.

That's the only rational explanation for the fact that one-tenth of our population supports the idea of scientists bringing back the tyrannosaurus rex.

Seriously. This was from a survey conducted by YouGov, which asked respondents a series of questions about extinct animals and whether those animals should be brought back.

One out of 10 respondents said the T-rex should come back. One-tenth!

Think of a group of 20 people you know, friends and family. Based on this study, two of them – two! – think we should bring back the T-Rex. And by that, they mean the dinosaur, not T. Rex, the band that sang "Get it on (Bang a Gong)."

Although frankly, either idea is bad. The founder of T. Rex died in a car wreck in 1977.

Anyway, the survey asked a series of questions:

• Should scientists try to prevent animals from going extinct? (Most say yes.)
• Should scientists bring back extinct animals? (Most are squeamish about it.)
• Should scientists bring back specific extinct animals?

To the last question, interviewees were presented with options, and the answers varied. This isn't necessarily a moral question, it's a strategic question: Which animals would be good to bring back?

The most popular animal to bring back was the giant tortoise (supported by 50% of respondents), followed by the passenger pigeon and the northern white rhino (44% support for each).

OK. This kind of makes sense. We like those animals – or at least think they're worth saving. The world would be better with them, presumably.

Then came the less-desired-to-be-returned animals. The wooly mammoth. The saber-tooth tiger. Neither were very popular (return supported by 24% and 20% of respondents, which seems high).

Then came the dinosaurs: 12% of people said they'd support the return of the triceratops. Eleven percent said they'd be OK if scientists brought back the pterodactyl. And the aforementioned 10% who thought it would be cool if the T-rex returned.

A weird thing is that only 70% of people think it's a bad idea to bring back those animals to their original habitats, which means about 20% of us (again, that would be an additional four out of your group of 20 friends) don't have an opinion. ON WHETHER WE SHOULD BRING BACK THE T-REX.

What?

Have they not seen Jurassic Park? Or The Lost World Jurassic Park? Or Jurassic Park 3? Or Jurassic World? Or Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom?

This is a baffling result. I guess some people think the world should be returned to whatever stage they think was the right era. It's kind of like people who want the world to be like it was when they were a kid, ignoring all the problems that existed in their childhood world. (In my childhood world, for instance, there was no internet and no cupholders in cars.)

Here's what I know: If scientists can bring back extinct animals including dinosaurs, it's there's a 100% chance that some rogue scientists will do so. Then we'll have a runaway T-rex (or a pack of them) causing havoc – knocking over garbage cans, trampling golf courses and eating all the apples off your trees. Oh, and killing people and reasserting their position as the apex predators in the world.

If that happens, the 10% of people who think this is a good idea (and maybe the 20% who are undecided) we fight off the inevitable T-rex invasion.

I'll be on an island with all the other people, living in peace with a group of giant tortoises.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.