Loch Ness Monster

[Giant Communist Robot]

It doesn't take much common sense to lead one to the opinion that the monster doesn't exist. Yet rational people of at least average intelligence are convinced it does. This speaks to our ability to deceive ourselves.

[Shapley]

Every continent (except, perhaps, Australia) seems to have its 'Loch Ness Monster' - the Yeti, Bigfoot, etc., as well as lesser-known local monsters - swamp things, bloodsuckers, ghosts, and goblins. As you note, there are learned men who even devote their spare time or their livelihoods to finding these various entities.

I've no idea what the lifespan of a plesiosaur is supposed to be, but it is highly unlikely that a single member of the species would continue to inhabit a relatively small lake in Scotland without being seen often.

The 1977 photographing of the rotting carcass of an unknown creature, found by the crew of the Zuiyo-maru, led to speculation that plesiosaurs might still be amongst us in the ocean depths. However, even were that true, it would not help explain how one found its way into a freshwater loch in Scotland.

When I was in Scotland a few years ago on a cruise, many wanted to go to Loch Ness (including my son). I did not go, opting to go into the city of Inverness, instead. Of those that went, none reported seeing the creature, Thus, methinks, I made the wiser choice.

[Giant Communist Robot]

On TV I saw a program where two guys did a study of the food chain in Loch Ness--their data showed there isn't enough biomass to support a large creature. When they showed their results to the third member of their expedition he became angry insisting he had seen it.

[Giant Communist Robot]

Wikipedia on the Zuiyo Maru carcass:

analysis later indicated it was most likely the carcass of a basking shark by comparing the number of sets of amino acids in the muscle tissue.

[dai bread]

Every continent (except, perhaps, Australia) seems to have its 'Loch Ness Monster'

...

Australia has the the bunyip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip

[Schmeelkie]

Heard of the bunyip...
In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - many of these sorts of modern monsters are suggested to be mythological creatures transplanted across the world and mistakenly identified by mortals. Bigfoot is thought to be a misidentification of a Laistrygonian giant.... fun stuff!

[Shapley]

I read the first of those. It was clever, but I could not interest myself enough to read the rest. I think I bought all of them for my son, but I'm not sure which is the last. There seem to be several by Rick Riordian that follow the theme, but are not part of the series, or are part of a new series. I'm not sure which.

In any case, my son pretty well outgrew them by the time the "Last Olympian" came out.

[Schmeelkie]

I read the first of those. It was clever, but I could not interest myself enough to read the rest. I think I bought all of them for my son, but I'm not sure which is the last. There seem to be several by Rick Riordian that follow the theme, but are not part of the series, or are part of a new series. I'm not sure which.

In any case, my son pretty well outgrew them by the time the "Last Olympian" came out.

Shap - I think half the reason I like them so much is because I've been reading them out loud to my son. Between my having fun with voices and pausing for dramatic effect and Pumpkin's reactions, it's just a lot of fun. These are not really serious books, and to an experienced reader of fiction/fantasy, plot twists are not too surprising, but he's still surprised and it's been fun to discover along with him. It's like Harry Potter-lite.
fyi - 5 books in the original series, I think two based in Egypt/Egyptian mythology (we don't have these yet), and now two looking at the Olympians more from the Roman aspect, while pulling in some of the characters/events from the original series. These are a bit weightier and darker than the original series and also written in third person (but focusing on three different characters - each chapter is just the name of the character who's viewpoint we're seeing), while the original series was all from Percy's viewpoint. Humor is still there...
I'd love to see him take some characters to Scotland someday and come up with an explanation for Nessie!

[Giant Communist Robot]

Since these monsters appear everywhere, maybe we have some kind of Campbellian myth or something common to human psyches. Where's those anthropologists when you need them??

[Shapley]

Since these monsters appear everywhere, maybe we have some kind of Campbellian myth or something common to human psyches.

Or maybe there's just more monsters running around than you care to admit... ; )

[jamiebk]

Since these monsters appear everywhere, maybe we have some kind of Campbellian myth or something common to human psyches. Where's those anthropologists when you need them??

Every kid in the world grows up with visions of "monsters" under the bed or in the closet...it IS part of our psyche.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Monsters in the closet: piffle. Lysol spray is a sure-fire guaranteed monster, ghost, ghoul, and mutant repellent. Also works on smelly gym bags and improves sneakers.

Trust me. Worked on all the ghastlies in my kids' closets, and is working perfectly on grandkids' closets.

I have not actually tried it on open lakes or oceans. Might not work on Nessie.