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Topic:
The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 44. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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Merlin_Ambrosius69
Registered:
Aug '08
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Date Posted:
8/5 2:43pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
- Date Edited:
8/5 2:44pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Merlin_Ambrosius69
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Zaz posted:
Have they ever searched the lake in a systematic manner?
They have. A few years ago there was a massive expedition to sonically "map" the entire, 15-mile loch. Numerous boats went side-by-side from one end to the other, sending out sonar signals that allowed them to "read" the contents of the water below. IIRC they had one or two large-ish blips that quickly disappeared out of sensory range. The conclusion at the time was that these were schools of fish which dispersed into smaller groups, resulting in a lack of further data.
The many sightings of the "creature" over the years can be attributed to a number of mundane factors. There are countless tree limbs and tree trunks submerged in the water, which resurface from time to time owing to the underwater "storms" that roil constantly beneath the loch's surface. These twisted lengths of wood are carried from point A to point B by the underwater storms before submerging once again; people witnessing this phenomenon, not understanding what is happening, take the timber to be some kind of serpentine creature. Also, large Atlantic eels that swim up from the River Ness, which connects to the sea, could be mistaken for the beastie. Also, a giant fish called a sturgeon, which has numerous fins protruding from its back, could be seen to glide along just under the surface of the water, easily misidentified as some kind of saurine animal.
The facts are very boring. Peat moss from the surrounding hills slides into the lock, making it murky and reducing visibility under the water even to those with scuba equipment and flashlights. It is now known that the quantity of fish residing in the loch is very small, and would not be enough to sustain even one pleisosuar-sized animal, let alone a family of them. It's true that salmon swim up the river into the loch once a year, but this singular annual event would hardly constitute enough nutrition to feed a creature, of the size Nessie is purported to be, year-round.
It's alot more fun, isn't it?, to imagine there might be a toothsome dinosaur living in the mile-wide loch, than to think that tree trunks, eels and sturgeons account for all the sightings over the centuries.
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LilyHobbitJedi
Title:
Apples to Apples and 20 Questions hostess
Registered:
Aug '05
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Date Posted:
8/5 5:25pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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I believe it's possible for Nessie to be real, always have.
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Merlin_Ambrosius69
Registered:
Aug '08
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Date Posted:
8/5 7:39pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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It's possible if there is a larger food supply in the loch than has so far been measured. It's also possible if the beastie is using the River Ness as an outlet to the sea.
But the revelation that there are many tree trunks and branches in the water, which get swirled around by the underwater storms, is enough to account for nearly 100% of the sightings throughout history. Added to that the catalogued existence of giant eels and sturgeons in the loch, and it seems rather fanciful to suggest that a prehistoric reptile is what has been spotted all these years.
Not to say that it's impossible, just highly unlikely given the evidence.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/6 4:19pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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Highly unlikely, yes. Impossible, no.
And to paraphrase a recent movie: people want to believe.
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Merlin_Ambrosius69
Registered:
Aug '08
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Date Posted:
8/6 5:05pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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Yes, that about sums it up. I like to believe, too.
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"Chance makes playthings of us all." -- Seneca
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DarthBoba
Registered:
Jun '00
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Date Posted:
8/9 5:29am
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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The fairly recent novel The Loch gives a pretty awesome explanation for what the monster might be. Not to mention a scary one. 
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/9 10:29am
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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Haven't read that one. Ze list!
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DarthBoba
Registered:
Jun '00
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Date Posted:
8/9 4:25pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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It's not a bad book; Steve Alten (the author) has carved out a niche for himself in the genre involving sixty-foot sharks eating submarines in the Marianas Trench.
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Dc_10
Registered:
May '05
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Date Posted:
8/10 11:16pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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Wait a minute the loch ness monster fought and won in Celebrity death match!
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/11 8:40pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 56. The Loch Ness Monster
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Next: 55. Ugly Duckling
This is based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen: The Ugly Duckling
All sorts of elements of this basic story in popular culture..."Superman" being one. Even stuff like "Revenge of the Nerds"...
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/26 7:07pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 55. The Ugly Duckling
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54. Rick Blaine (of "Casablanca")
The cynical anti-hero.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
9/6 8:31pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 54. Rick Blaine
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Next: Captain Ahab
The captain of the whaling ship "Pequod" in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick". An extremely large and ferocious white whale has bitten off his leg; he seeks revenge, chasing the whale obsessively to his death and that of all his men, with the exception of Ishmael.
Represents: Destructive obsession.
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DarthBoba
Registered:
Jun '00
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Date Posted:
9/6 9:54pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 53. Captain Ahab
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Moby is a sperm whale.
Awesome character; I'd say he was the high-water mark of Gregory Peck's career.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
9/6 10:16pm
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 53. Captain Ahab
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I'd say Peck--whose stock-in-trade is decency--is exactly wrong as Ahab. A natural Starbuck. My casting? George C. Scott.
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DarthBoba
Registered:
Jun '00
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Date Posted:
9/7 10:35am
Subject:
RE: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: 53. Captain Ahab
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Urgh, no.
Zaz, were you aware that Peck was originally supposed to be the villain in Cape Fear? He's a large, physically imposing man with a personality to match; Ahab, IMO, was perfect for him.
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