New York City Bans Mention Of Dinosaurs, Dancing, Birthdays And More On Student Tests NEW YORK - In a bizarre case of political correctness run wild, New York educrats banned references to "dinosaurs," "birthdays," "Halloween" and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests. That is because they fear such topics "could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students." Dinosaurs, for example, call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists; birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah's Witnesses; and Halloween suggests paganism. Even "dancing" is taboo, because some sects object. But the city did make an exception for ballet. The forbidden topics were recently spelled out in a request for proposals provided to companies competing to revamp New York City's English, math, science and social studies tests given several times a year to measure student progress. "Some of these topics may be perfectly acceptable in other contexts but do not belong in a city- or state-wide assessment," the request reads.