# Oozing Giant Gelatenous Mass Found Off Chile Is Said To Be... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752 "2003-07-02T11:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Panzerfaust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Panzerfaust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panzerfaust)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/61 "2003-07-03T03:30:15Z")
I knew He was real! I knew He was real! Ftagn! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/62 "2003-07-03T03:40:58Z")
In all seriousness, it looks like a giant octopus or squid for sure. If you click on the [pic](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/sci_nat_enl_1057157419/img/1.jpg) accompanying the BBC artcle, the image is large, and you can see recognisable eyes that look very squidlike. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/63 "2003-07-03T04:46:14Z")
Fascinating… I’d never heard of any of this before… Thank you, especially Beagle. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/64 "2003-07-03T05:44:09Z")
Nessie’s escaped and was poisoned by the salt water! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/65 "2003-07-03T05:55:35Z")
My thought was jellyfish, if it’s not a squid of some kind (with all its innards digested by the whale, perhaps? Does that make any kind of sense?) > [@](#): > > Oozing Giant Gelatenous Mass Found Off Chile Is Said To Be… When my dad told us about this, my brother’s immediate response was Rush Limbaugh. I said Ari Fleischer. Lets you know something about the house we live in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/66 "2003-07-03T06:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Panzerfaust \* > \*\*I knew He was real! I knew He was real! > > Ftagn! \*\* _cackle_ That was my first thought too. My second was, of course, God spoo. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/67 "2003-07-03T06:13:05Z")
> [@](#): > > The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen along with another large mass, but the other dead animal turned out to be a dead humpback whale. Good grief… They say life imitates art, but if they find a giant lizard washing ashore in the next couple of days it’ll be just [too surreal](http://www.brandonbird.com/highsea.html) for me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/68 "2003-07-03T06:16:29Z")
Uh… what is a shoggoth? ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/69 "2003-07-03T06:30:00Z")
I know what it is. But I´m not going to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Panzerfaust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Panzerfaust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panzerfaust)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/70 "2003-07-03T06:40:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\*Uh… what is a shoggoth? \*\* Rhlaxgn! ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/71 "2003-07-03T06:53:18Z")
[Its obit has already been posted](http://www.shoggoth.net/article.php3?story_id=488) ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/72 "2003-07-03T06:57:51Z")
“Over the jagged peaks of Thok they sweep, Heedless of all the cries I try to make, And down the nether pits to that foul lake Where the puffed shoggoths splash in doubtful sleep. But Oh! If only they would make some sound, Or wear a face where faces should be found!” - H.P.L. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/73 "2003-07-03T11:43:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > \*\*In all seriousness, it looks like a giant octopus or squid for sure. If you click on the [pic](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/sci_nat_enl_1057157419/img/1.jpg) accompanying the BBC artcle, the image is large, and you can see recognisable eyes that look very squidlike. \*\* I saw no distinct eyes in that picture. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/74 "2003-07-03T12:07:40Z")
I figure the eyes are as marked in this pic [here](http://www.guanolad.com/stuff/squid1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/75 "2003-07-03T16:56:58Z")
Huh. I see little space raccoons. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/76 "2003-07-03T17:07:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > \*\*I figure the eyes are as marked in this pic [here](http://www.guanolad.com/stuff/squid1.jpg). \*\* My computer has Windows Magnifier. I selected 3X power, & they _do_ resemble eyes. There also appear to be stumps of what may have been tentacles. But whether this was a squid, octopus, cuttlefish or nautillus can’t be determined from the remains as shown. And yes, I know the nautillus has a shell, but merely because a dead specimen lacks one after drifting around for days or weeks doesn’t mean it didn’t have one in life. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/77 "2003-07-04T00:53:20Z")
While I understand that you can’t identify creatures directly from their DNA samples, I don’t understand why you can’t compare unknown DNA samples to DNA samples of known species and see if they’re members of the same species. I know that the difference between human DNA and chimp DNA is just 3 to 5 percent. But when you are talking about a minumum of 1,380,000 genes (30,000-60,000 genes per strand of DNA, 46 strands in human DNA) you are talking a lot of difference (41,000 genes minimum, 82,000 maximum). It seems to me you test some squid DNA, some octopus DNA, some nautiloid DNA and some whale DNA and compare it with a sample of DNA from yer unknown creature. You get matches or you don’t. It’s that simple. Time consuming? Sure. But interesting results? You betcha! BTW, I just don’t see whale snot having the same structure as muscle tissue of cephalopods, so I doubt a whale DNA test woud be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/78 "2003-07-04T02:56:33Z")
First it was the _Jaws_ movie, then giant squid off New Zealand, now this. This is precisely the sort of thing that made me chose to live in the center of the continental land mass. Resist, I say resist, all efforts to make Des Moines a sea port. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/79 "2003-07-10T17:07:23Z")
\*Update ~~~~~~~~~~ \* Analysis underway. [http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030709/02](http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030709/02) ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752/80 "2003-07-12T05:19:17Z")
[Whale carcass](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/07/11/chile.creature.reut/index.html) bummer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oozing-giant-gelatenous-mass-found-off-chile-is-said-to-be/185752.md?page=5)