# That damn lake monster in sctoland? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437 "2002-10-22T23:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lear\_s\_fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@Lear\_s\_fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lear_s_fool)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/1 "2002-10-22T23:23:42Z")
So ist there a lockness monster? ps just so you know this thread is more to put an end to my belife that their is one wich i was so damn sure was real at the age of 9. but my belife now is to say the least skecptical do to the fact from what i have read the number of ish in the that lake is not great enough to feed a population of large preditory animal and the fact that large predtors are uslay pretty use to find ---
**Author:** ![Lear\_s\_fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@Lear\_s\_fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lear_s_fool)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/2 "2002-10-22T23:34:03Z")
“sctoland” fucking retard learn to spell ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/3 "2002-10-22T23:55:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lear’s\_fool \* > \*\*“sctoland” > > fucking retard learn to spell \*\* I was about to ask this be taken to The Pit, but then I noticed who posted this reply 🙂 critter42 ---
**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:** [October 23, 2002, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/4 "2002-10-23T00:07:07Z")
[list=1] [li] **Do not** use obscene language outside of the BBQ Pit. The Mods enforce this, & the rest of us like it that way.[/li][li]No body has been found in 60+ years of “sightings”. The Giant Squid _also_ has not been seen alive by scientists, but their carcasses wash up or are snared in nets all the time. And they are _much_ stranger.[/li][li]You heard right about the fish. Not enough food.[/li][li]There would have to be a number of them, for breeding purposes. Just one doesn’t cut it. So, where _are_ they all?[/li][li]Most of the “photos” have been disproved, & the rest are…aheh 😃 …_“fishy”_.[/li][/list=1] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/5 "2002-10-23T00:39:42Z")
Did anyone else find the op completely and utterly unreadable? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/6 "2002-10-23T02:46:16Z")
😃 [sup]I also found it unreadable, but also full of new and imaginative misspellings.[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/7 "2002-10-23T04:08:41Z")
[Andrew Jackson] It’s a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. [/Andrew Jackson] ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/8 "2002-10-23T04:21:18Z")
As an aside, perhaps the OP is using English as a second language. (Perhaps not, but that is beside the point.) I find several of the responses more “Pit-like” than GQ. Nice way to encourage new posters. \ ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/9 "2002-10-23T04:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > **[The Giant Squid _also_ has not been seen alive by scientists, but their carcasses wash up or are snared in nets all the time.** Actually, baby giant squid have now been observed by researchers: [http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20020225/squid.html](http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20020225/squid.html) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/10 "2002-10-23T06:26:32Z")
From **Sternvogel** ’s link: > [@](#): > > O’Shea is confident he and his team will able to get living juveniles to aquariums on land and raise them as soon as they can get back out to capture more. > > The ultimate goal is to raise squid until their bodies grow to about ten feet total length. Great! They’re going to get them to overcome their fear of humans, then when the released squid begin coming up to beg from ships, they’ll get mad when no one feeds them and start dragging ships and crews down into the deeps. _Will no one think of the **passengers** _? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/11 "2002-10-23T07:28:34Z")
Well, will you promise to spell it **“Loch Ness”** in future if I give you a link to a webcam, so that you can monster-hunt to your heart’s content? [http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam/](http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/12 "2002-10-23T09:47:10Z")
This is an excellent example of the much-used saying “you can’t prove a negative” (which may not always be true and is self-contradictory anyway). There is no way to conclusively prove that the monster doesn’t exist and has never existed: If you do an extensive sonar scan, then the monster might have been hiding in an underwater cave, or might have slipped by undetected, or it might be a ‘stealth monster’ that isn’t easily detected by sonar. I heard that the salmon stocks in the lake had been underestimated, but even if there isn’t sufficient fish, it can be argued that the monster feeds on organisms in the sediment, or aquatic plants, or has some metabolic properties as yet unknown to science. Even if you drained the entire loch (I’m not sure if this would even be possible), it could be argued that the monster had escaped over land. In short, I consider the existence of the monster unlikely in the extreme, but I don’t think that can or will ever be proved to everyone’s satisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/13 "2002-10-23T10:05:30Z")
Is it really a semantic matter though **Mangetout**? You cannot prove that you are not about to transform spontaneously into a Ford Fiesta either. First recorded sightings of the monster date from the 1600s, but although I cannot _prove_ that an animal cannot survive alone for such a period, all our experience of other living things suggests that it is vanishingly unlikely. In addition, the biology of all known creatures requires a breeding population rather than a single individual. Of course I’m not accusing you of believing in a fictional animal, but when something is as unlikely as this surely it’s as good as disproven for practical purposes? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/14 "2002-10-23T10:40:45Z")
Like I said, I think it most unlikely that there is a monster (personally I’d probably go as far as to say “no, there isn’t”), but like I also said, there are some people who will never be convinced, no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/15 "2002-10-23T12:16:53Z")
Although there have been legends about a monster in the Loch for centuries, the modern “monster industry” was started by the famous [“Surgeon’s Photograph”](http://www.forteantimes.com/gallery/nessie3.shtml), supposedly taken in 1934 by a gynaecologist named Col RK Wilson. However, the true story behind this photo came to light in 1994 - it was actually a hoax (using a toy submarine!) perpetrated by a guy called Marmaduke Wetherall, who was peeved about an earlier hoax of his (using a dried hippo’s foot to create footprints on the loch shore) being blown open by the _Daily Mail_ newspaper. The story is outlined [here](http://www.loch-ness.com/files/surfacephotographs.asp) and [here](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend3.html). Then, of course, there’s the Latin name given to the monster by the naturalist Sir Peter Scott: _Nessiteras rhombopteryx_. Or, if you’re anagrammatically inclined, _Monster hoax by Sir Peter S_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/16 "2002-10-23T12:26:56Z")
That anagram’s outstanding isn’t it? I thought Scott had lost his marbles 'til I heard that. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/17 "2002-10-23T12:37:40Z")
The Loch Ness story is one best described as much ado about nothing. It was an old wife’s tale for a very long time, until “that” picture was published in a London newspaper. About 8-10 years ago Christian Spurling made a deathbed confession of his role in the prank. His step son had taken the picture and the creature was actually made from a toy submarine. The whole thing got out of hand and the few people involved decided to simply keep quiet. I don’t recall if it was the original newspaper publication or the negative of the photo itself, but there was a portion of the photo that had for decades been ignored, which after Spurling’s was told, confirmed it has a hoax. End of story. Now what about Snow White? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/18 "2002-10-23T12:39:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > **… > First recorded sightings of the monster date from the 1600s…** Ah but **St. Columba** saw it in **565** C.E. (and we all know what level-haded chaps those old Celtic saints were) 🙂 [http://www.folklegend.com/article1027.html](http://www.folklegend.com/article1027.html) ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/19 "2002-10-23T12:45:30Z")
r\_k You were posting while I was thinking. Thanks for the links, that’s what I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437/20 "2002-10-23T12:48:31Z")
There is also Loch Morar to consider. It’s “monster” is named “Morag”. [http://www.parascope.com/en/cryptozoo/aquarium04.htm](http://www.parascope.com/en/cryptozoo/aquarium04.htm) Have fun! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-damn-lake-monster-in-sctoland/133437.md?page=2)