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The Monster In Loch Nessie
More than one slippery creature is said to be living in Loch Nessie. For a long time the mysterious monster was considered just a joke. But things changed in 1966.Then, some photo experts of the Royal Air Force reported on their study of a film of the “monster”. They said that there really is some huge objects in Loch Ness—and it’s probably alive!
Most scientists agree that Nessie is neither a whale nor a shark. They think that it could be a huge, unknown kind of sea slug. The small garden slug can stretch its body to enter worm holes. So a sea slug could shape its body into the one, two, three or more humps that different people say they have seen.
How did Nessie get into Loch Nessie? From the sea, all say. Until the end of the last Ice Age the lake was an arm of the sea. Then the ice on the rugged rocks melted. The earth’s crust rose, leaving the lake separated from the sea. The lake’s gloomy bottom is well-stocked with fish. What a perfect place for a settlement of monsters! Gradually, they could get used to fresh water.
KILLER BEES
Davis has described a disastrous 1998 encounter with Africanized (“killer”) bees on the Winship Ranch in Maverick County, South Texas. He spoke of how a few cowboys tied up horses to both ends of a boxcar. Then the men worked with the cattle in the pens not far away until bees were seen to be swarming on the horses by the boxcar.
Bees covered the head of one horse, so Davis attempted to untie its rope. In this unsuccessful effort, he was stung 30 or 40 times. Another horse managed to get away, but the most overwhelmed equine suffered fatal consequences, described by Davis: “You could see the shape of a horse, but you couldn’t see the horse.”
Dancing Clam
Although it is probably not possible to underrate the intelligence of clams, their athletic skills apparently deserve more respect. Olaf a marine invertebrate biomechanic professor at the University of California, has found that some clams jump out of the sand and ride the waves.
During a rising tide, Olaf observed clams in the sand jump in front of a breaking wave and then ride the churning water up the beach. The clams chose only the waves that would carry them farthest—a strategy that no doubt saves them energy. But how do they pick the waves? In an aquarium in his lab, Olaf played them wave sounds and found that most jumps coincided with the pre-arrival rumble of the loudest waves. Olaf guesses the clams may sense the vibrations with small, hairlike cilia on their head.
Bloodworm Showers
Naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, in his book The Romance of Natural History, had an experience with a phenomenon that closely resembled drops of blood. In a neighborhood in Devon, England, the scientist noticed that in the cratered white mud at the bottom of a shallow pond, there appeared to be many patches of “what looked exactly like blood ....” It appeared to the experienced natural scientist that two or three drops of blood had fallen in one spot.
Upon examination of the spots, Gosse determined that their color was very-bloodlike, and that the spots even had what he called “just that curdled appearance that drops of blood assume when that fall into still water.” Upon “minute examination,” Gosse saw a motion within the spot and found that each “drop” was composed of many thin 1.5 inch-long worms protruding from the mud. He took samples and found the creatures to be worms with transparent bodies, red-hued by virtue of their visible blood-vessels .
In his Secrets of Earth and Sea, Sir Ray Lankester, explains “showers of blood” as being due to showers of red insects. He feels that there may be falls of hundreds of small red river-worms (such as Tubifex). The mechanism for these showers proposed by Lankester is the ubiquitous whirlwind that lifts the worms out of the water and drops them elsewhere.
尼斯湖的怪兽
据说尼斯湖里有不止一个令人难以捉摸的动物｡在相当长的一段时间里,人们只不过把尼斯湖中神秘的动物当作是一个玩笑,但是在1966年这种情况改变了｡当时英国皇家空军一些照片专家就他们对“怪兽”影片所做的研究报告说:尼斯湖里确实有某种巨大的物体,而且这个物体可能是有生命的!
大多数科学家一致认为“尼斯”既不是鲸,也不是鲨鱼｡他们认为“尼斯”可能是一种庞大的､还不为人类所知的海蛞蝓｡渺小的庭院蛞蝓能把身体伸长而钻进虫子洞里｡因此,像不同的人所说的那样,海蛞蝓也应该能将它的身体形成一个､二个､三个或更多个的驼峰形隆肉｡
“尼斯”是怎么进入尼斯湖的呢?所有的人都认为是从大海进去的｡最后一次冰河期以前,尼斯湖一直是同海洋连为一体的｡后来嶙峋的岩石上的冰融化了,地壳上升,把尼斯湖同大海分开了｡尼斯湖昏暗的湖水深处蕴藏着丰富的鱼类资源｡这对于大型怪兽而言是一个多么好的栖息地啊!它们逐渐地能够适应淡水了｡
杀人蜂
戴维斯曾描述过在1998年德克萨斯州南部马弗里克县的温什普大农场非洲化杀人蜂的灾难性遭遇｡他说,几个牛仔将马匹系在货车车厢的两头,而他们则在不远处的牛圈干活｡只见这时涌上一群杀人蜂将车厢旁的马匹团团围住｡
杀人蜂将一匹马的头围得密不透风,所以戴维斯想解开缚马的绳索,却失败了,反被杀人蜂蛰了三四十次｡终于,另一匹马挣脱离去,而那匹马则完全淹没在蜂群之中,只能等待死亡｡戴维斯这样描述着当时的情景:“你可以看见包围在蜂海中马匹的外形,却完全看不见这匹马｡”
跳舞的蛤蜊
我们也许不会低估蛤蜊的智商,然而它们非凡的运动能力显然能赢得更多的尊重｡奥立夫是加利福尼亚大学海洋无脊椎动物生物力学教授,他发现某些蛤蜊能跃出沙堆骑浪嬉戏｡
在一次涨潮期间奥立夫观察到沙滩上的蛤蜊跃上劈面而来的浪头,然后乘着翻滚的浪涛跃上海滩｡蛤蜊只选择那些能将它们带到最远处的浪头——毫无疑问这是一种省力的策略｡然而它们如何进行选择呢? 在奥立夫的实验室里摆放着一个鱼缸,他放出带有波涛声响的录音,结果发现蛤蜊的大多数跳跃动作都发生在最响的波涛声到达之前｡奥立夫猜测,蛤蜊也许是用它们头上的细小纤毛感触震动的｡
血虫雨
博物学家菲利普•亨利•戈斯在《自然史传奇》中,用极生动的语言描述了一种酷似“血雨”的现象:在英国德文郡附近有一个浅水池塘,戈斯在池塘底部的白色沟壑中发现了许多“看起来很像血迹”的污块｡在这位经验丰富的科学家看来,这儿显然曾经降落过数滴血雨｡
经过观察,戈斯再次肯定那些污迹的颜色确实非常像血,甚至还带有“如血滴落入静水中所呈现的凝固状态”｡经过几分钟的观测,戈斯发现血块中稍有动静｡原来每块血迹都是由许多细小蠕虫组成｡这些蠕虫从泥沙里钻出,身长1.5英寸,身体透明,血管脉络清晰,因而通体呈红色｡
无独有偶,雷•兰基斯特爵士在他的《大地与海洋的秘密》一书中也认为血雨或许源于血色小虫,正是那上百只血红色的河流蠕虫(比如水丝蚯)形成了所谓的血雨现象｡至于它们是怎样移动的,据兰基斯特推测,或许是那无处不在的旋风卷起河水中的蠕虫后,将它们带到了别处｡
More than one slippery creature is said to be living in Loch Nessie. For a long time the mysterious monster was considered just a joke. But things changed in 1966.Then, some photo experts of the Royal Air Force reported on their study of a film of the “monster”. They said that there really is some huge objects in Loch Ness—and it’s probably alive!
Most scientists agree that Nessie is neither a whale nor a shark. They think that it could be a huge, unknown kind of sea slug. The small garden slug can stretch its body to enter worm holes. So a sea slug could shape its body into the one, two, three or more humps that different people say they have seen.
How did Nessie get into Loch Nessie? From the sea, all say. Until the end of the last Ice Age the lake was an arm of the sea. Then the ice on the rugged rocks melted. The earth’s crust rose, leaving the lake separated from the sea. The lake’s gloomy bottom is well-stocked with fish. What a perfect place for a settlement of monsters! Gradually, they could get used to fresh water.
KILLER BEES
Davis has described a disastrous 1998 encounter with Africanized (“killer”) bees on the Winship Ranch in Maverick County, South Texas. He spoke of how a few cowboys tied up horses to both ends of a boxcar. Then the men worked with the cattle in the pens not far away until bees were seen to be swarming on the horses by the boxcar.
Bees covered the head of one horse, so Davis attempted to untie its rope. In this unsuccessful effort, he was stung 30 or 40 times. Another horse managed to get away, but the most overwhelmed equine suffered fatal consequences, described by Davis: “You could see the shape of a horse, but you couldn’t see the horse.”
Dancing Clam
Although it is probably not possible to underrate the intelligence of clams, their athletic skills apparently deserve more respect. Olaf a marine invertebrate biomechanic professor at the University of California, has found that some clams jump out of the sand and ride the waves.
During a rising tide, Olaf observed clams in the sand jump in front of a breaking wave and then ride the churning water up the beach. The clams chose only the waves that would carry them farthest—a strategy that no doubt saves them energy. But how do they pick the waves? In an aquarium in his lab, Olaf played them wave sounds and found that most jumps coincided with the pre-arrival rumble of the loudest waves. Olaf guesses the clams may sense the vibrations with small, hairlike cilia on their head.
Bloodworm Showers
Naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, in his book The Romance of Natural History, had an experience with a phenomenon that closely resembled drops of blood. In a neighborhood in Devon, England, the scientist noticed that in the cratered white mud at the bottom of a shallow pond, there appeared to be many patches of “what looked exactly like blood ....” It appeared to the experienced natural scientist that two or three drops of blood had fallen in one spot.
Upon examination of the spots, Gosse determined that their color was very-bloodlike, and that the spots even had what he called “just that curdled appearance that drops of blood assume when that fall into still water.” Upon “minute examination,” Gosse saw a motion within the spot and found that each “drop” was composed of many thin 1.5 inch-long worms protruding from the mud. He took samples and found the creatures to be worms with transparent bodies, red-hued by virtue of their visible blood-vessels .
In his Secrets of Earth and Sea, Sir Ray Lankester, explains “showers of blood” as being due to showers of red insects. He feels that there may be falls of hundreds of small red river-worms (such as Tubifex). The mechanism for these showers proposed by Lankester is the ubiquitous whirlwind that lifts the worms out of the water and drops them elsewhere.
尼斯湖的怪兽
据说尼斯湖里有不止一个令人难以捉摸的动物｡在相当长的一段时间里,人们只不过把尼斯湖中神秘的动物当作是一个玩笑,但是在1966年这种情况改变了｡当时英国皇家空军一些照片专家就他们对“怪兽”影片所做的研究报告说:尼斯湖里确实有某种巨大的物体,而且这个物体可能是有生命的!
大多数科学家一致认为“尼斯”既不是鲸,也不是鲨鱼｡他们认为“尼斯”可能是一种庞大的､还不为人类所知的海蛞蝓｡渺小的庭院蛞蝓能把身体伸长而钻进虫子洞里｡因此,像不同的人所说的那样,海蛞蝓也应该能将它的身体形成一个､二个､三个或更多个的驼峰形隆肉｡
“尼斯”是怎么进入尼斯湖的呢?所有的人都认为是从大海进去的｡最后一次冰河期以前,尼斯湖一直是同海洋连为一体的｡后来嶙峋的岩石上的冰融化了,地壳上升,把尼斯湖同大海分开了｡尼斯湖昏暗的湖水深处蕴藏着丰富的鱼类资源｡这对于大型怪兽而言是一个多么好的栖息地啊!它们逐渐地能够适应淡水了｡
杀人蜂
戴维斯曾描述过在1998年德克萨斯州南部马弗里克县的温什普大农场非洲化杀人蜂的灾难性遭遇｡他说,几个牛仔将马匹系在货车车厢的两头,而他们则在不远处的牛圈干活｡只见这时涌上一群杀人蜂将车厢旁的马匹团团围住｡
杀人蜂将一匹马的头围得密不透风,所以戴维斯想解开缚马的绳索,却失败了,反被杀人蜂蛰了三四十次｡终于,另一匹马挣脱离去,而那匹马则完全淹没在蜂群之中,只能等待死亡｡戴维斯这样描述着当时的情景:“你可以看见包围在蜂海中马匹的外形,却完全看不见这匹马｡”
跳舞的蛤蜊
我们也许不会低估蛤蜊的智商,然而它们非凡的运动能力显然能赢得更多的尊重｡奥立夫是加利福尼亚大学海洋无脊椎动物生物力学教授,他发现某些蛤蜊能跃出沙堆骑浪嬉戏｡
在一次涨潮期间奥立夫观察到沙滩上的蛤蜊跃上劈面而来的浪头,然后乘着翻滚的浪涛跃上海滩｡蛤蜊只选择那些能将它们带到最远处的浪头——毫无疑问这是一种省力的策略｡然而它们如何进行选择呢? 在奥立夫的实验室里摆放着一个鱼缸,他放出带有波涛声响的录音,结果发现蛤蜊的大多数跳跃动作都发生在最响的波涛声到达之前｡奥立夫猜测,蛤蜊也许是用它们头上的细小纤毛感触震动的｡
血虫雨
博物学家菲利普•亨利•戈斯在《自然史传奇》中,用极生动的语言描述了一种酷似“血雨”的现象:在英国德文郡附近有一个浅水池塘,戈斯在池塘底部的白色沟壑中发现了许多“看起来很像血迹”的污块｡在这位经验丰富的科学家看来,这儿显然曾经降落过数滴血雨｡
经过观察,戈斯再次肯定那些污迹的颜色确实非常像血,甚至还带有“如血滴落入静水中所呈现的凝固状态”｡经过几分钟的观测,戈斯发现血块中稍有动静｡原来每块血迹都是由许多细小蠕虫组成｡这些蠕虫从泥沙里钻出,身长1.5英寸,身体透明,血管脉络清晰,因而通体呈红色｡
无独有偶,雷•兰基斯特爵士在他的《大地与海洋的秘密》一书中也认为血雨或许源于血色小虫,正是那上百只血红色的河流蠕虫(比如水丝蚯)形成了所谓的血雨现象｡至于它们是怎样移动的,据兰基斯特推测,或许是那无处不在的旋风卷起河水中的蠕虫后,将它们带到了别处｡