The Loch Ness Monster: A prehistoric beast, or imagination?
Friday, September 10th, 2010There is a lake in northern Scotland known as Loch Ness. This lake, cold, deep, and dark, is said to be the home of a monster. Sounds pretty spooky right? Okay, maybe not. This mystery remains unsolved (in case you didn’t know), so, let’s first look at it assuming there is nothing in the loch, and then look at it assuming there is.
A man is driving by Loch Ness one fine day, and happens to notice an old log floating in the water. He comments that it slightly resembles a long-necked reptile. His passenger, a news-reporter who is faced with the proposition of no job unless he can get a new story soon, seizes on the idle words. Tomorrow’s headline reads: Man Barely Escapes from Encounter with Ferocious Monster at Loch Ness. Okay, it wouldn’t be that long. But the point is, it’s possible isn’t it? Someone makes a remark that sparks someone else’s interest. The someone else tells his friend, his friend tells his friend, his friend tells his brother, his brother tells his aunt, his aunt tells her son, her son tells Jo down the street, and Jo down the street tells Bob, who happens to be a news reporter. By that time, the story has been warped from a harmless tree branch in a lake to a life-and-death struggle between a beast armed with 5-foot long teeth, 9-foot long claws, and eyes the size of UFOs, and a man with a stick. Then people start to look for the terrible ‘Loch Ness Monster.’ As they drive by, guess what they see? A tree branch situated next to a rock and an apple? No! The Loch Ness Monster! You can still hear the screams as they speed away at 90 miles an hour. The Myth grows.
Now, look at it assuming that there is something in the lake. After all, who knows? The reports could be true. If there is a creature in the lake, how did it get there? Probably the same way all the other animals get in lakes (and no, not by evolution). What would this creature be? A long necked Plesiosaur as so many of the reports say? Or possibly a Giant Seal? Whatever it is, the reports seem to agree that it is big.
The reports do have their differences, though. Most seem to indicate that the creature was in the water. Some, however, say it was on land. This would be a problem for creatures with no legs. If these reports are true, they rule out Plesiosaurs and seals as ‘suspects.’ Well, maybe not entirely. Seals have been known to be on land.
There have been many expeditions and so-called sightings on and in the lake, but nothing has been conclusive about anything. A sonar scan showed some odd objects, but no one could tell what they were. Divers have swum through the loch’s waters, only to find nothing. A submarine was even launched, once again, with no results.
So, is or isn’t there a monster living in a lake in Scotland? Who knows?
Thoughts? Leave a comment below.