Southern Fried Science

Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)

September 7, 2010January 14, 2024 Andrew Thaler 12 Comments

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Sitting squarely in the middle of our favorite sea monsters is a new entrant in the world of cryptic sea monsters, the Ningen. The Ningen is a recent sea monster reported by Japanese fishermen working in the Antarctic. Allegedly, Ningens are up to 30 meters long, have a human like body, and a tail. Reports of what they look like seem to vary quite a bit, but the one consistent bit is that they have a human face and other human features.

“You Could Walk On The Backs of Sea Turtles”

September 7, 2010September 7, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab 1 Comment

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Sea turtle research is unique in that many if not most of the people actually out in the field taking data are volunteers. By day, they are teachers, librarians, business owners, lifeguards, firefighters, students, retirees, you name it. If you’re curious, check out the network’s website. Sea turtles are the classic cute endangered animals that can really make someone care about marine conservation. And all of this data has gone to help produce population assessments such as this that confirm that while overall population is declining, some areas are actually increasing. But no where is back to the populations on which people could walk out to sea on the backs of turtles.

Ocean of Pseudoscience Shorty – Bloop!

September 7, 2010September 7, 2010 David Shiffman 2 Comments

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Our oceans have always been full of mystery, and those mysteries have inspired many fascinating stories over the centuries. We tend to think of sea monster stories as ancient superstitions, but the tale of the Bloop is less than 15 years old. In 1997, some US Navy hydrophones that had been in place for decades … Read More “Ocean of Pseudoscience Shorty – Bloop!” »

Bone-eating worms and contorted creationist thinking

September 7, 2010January 12, 2012 Andrew Thaler 10 Comments

Science

I tend to avoid the creationist blogs. Every time I get sucked into that vortex of pseudoscience, I find the exact same debunked claims that were bunk when I was 12. There are better bloggers out there who have the energy and patience to systematically dissect the same tired old rubbish day after day, but I’m not one of them.

This claim, however, is special. There’s nothing new in the rhetoric behind it, it’s just another “how could this commensalism/symbiosis/mutualism evolve? It must be magic!” mantra. And the analysis isn’t terribly sophisticated, anyone could do the basic googling to find out why every argument in it is either wrong or deceptive. What’s special is that it’s about one of my favorite critters, Osedax – the bone eating worm.

Chemistry of the Great Big Blue: Nutrients

September 7, 2010September 7, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab 1 Comment

Science

The Great Big Blue looks like it contains nothing but water and maybe a little salt, especially out in the open ocean. However, this kind of sparse environment is exactly where the chemistry matters the most – it’s a fine line between not enough, too much, and just right. Given this, there’s no distinct myth here but an underlying unresolved question: what is the limiting factor that keeps the open ocean at low productivity?

Our favorite sea monsters – Mermaids (#5)

September 7, 2010September 7, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab 5 Comments

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Mermaids occur in legends from cultures around the world and vary in shape, origin, and intent. From the beautiful temptress on the cliffs luring boats onto dangerous shoals to peaceful coexisting aquatic humans, mermaids have made a place for themselves in history. The basics of merfolk is that they are neither human nor fish but some sort of mammal that includes elements of both. They are musically talented and astoundingly beautiful.

365 days of Darwin: September 7, 2010 (3/7)

September 7, 2010August 31, 2010 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

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Charlie wants to see what it’s like to be a Mer-Darwin

An Ocean of Pseudoscience Linkfest

September 6, 2010September 8, 2010 Andrew Thaler

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Below are all the other blogs that have joined in on our week long adventure into an Ocean of Pseudoscience. Ya Like Dags? – There’s an Ocean of Pseudoscience Out There Arthropoda – Ocean of Pseudoscience Week Cephalove – News flash: Octopuses are actually psychic Observations of a Nerd – Ocean of Pseudoscience: Sharks DO … Read More “An Ocean of Pseudoscience Linkfest” »

Our favorite sea monsters – Nessie (#6)

September 6, 2010September 7, 2010 David Shiffman 2 Comments

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One of the most famous “sea monsters” of all time – so famous that her outline graces the Ocean of Pseudoscience Week logo – actually lives in a lake. I’m talking, of course, about “Nessie”, the Loch Ness monster.

Local reports of a bizarre creature inhabiting the Scottish lake go back over a thousand years, but the story became popularized in the 1930’s when Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson took a now-famous photograph.

The Green Flash

September 6, 2010September 7, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab 5 Comments

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Legend goes that just as the sun sets below the horizon, a flash of green light appears to kiss the day goodbye. Sailors say that when the flash appears, it means a soul has crossed over. Jules Verne wrote that those who witnessed it could no longer be deceived because he could read the thoughts of others. Admiral Byrd supposedly saw one that lasted 35 minutes. For a full record of sightings, see here. But is this really stuff of legend or a real phenomenon in the sky?