#47518: — 11/07  at  04:03 PM
Manipogo is actually a fresh water monster, so probably not penile in nature. Just another big sturgeon...

#47526: — 11/07  at  04:47 PM
Oy, preserve your sanity and don't look at their ideas for home schooling science fairs.

http://www.tccsa.tc/adventure/fair_ideas.html

Some ideas are good, but some are just plain god-awful.
eg:

"71. How does soap clean?"
(good topic)
"72. What is God made of?"
(brain explodes - how is that science?)

and some ideas strike me as sadistic to the point of Goodwin's law provoking
"8. How much voltage or current can a human take before he is killed? Could do experiments on a plant."
(Suggested sub experiment - does it take more to kill a Jew, Christan, or Heathen?)

#47531: — 11/07  at  05:10 PM
There is a name for this amongst whale researchers: Pink Floyd.

Thought some might enjoy knowing that.

#47534: tony g — 11/07  at  05:15 PM
here's a pic i got via email with several others -- for jobs you don't really want. seems maybe they've actually caught a sea monster. couple with the snagging of a giant squid, what's left to discover?

http://milkriver.blogspot.com/2005/10/env-some-jobs-you-dont-really-want.html

tg

#47537: — 11/07  at  05:20 PM
Creationists have a thing about sea monsters, part of their hangup with finding living dinosaurs.

I realize I'm mostly ignorant (by choice) of the intricacies of creationist thought, but how in the heck would a living dinosaur prove them right? Wouldn't it just prove that, hey, the world is really old and some animals were so well-adapted to their niche that they didn't evolve much?

And what does a coeleocanth taste like, anyway?

#47538: protected static — 11/07  at  05:23 PM
Mnemosyne: According to the NOVA rerun I saw the other night, not very good. Very, very oily.

#47544: — 11/07  at  06:25 PM
What is God made of? You could always quote Pullman (1997) and say `dark matter'.

(Warning, quoting Pullman to a fundie is liable to result in explosions.)

#47545: — 11/07  at  06:37 PM
The hard part about finding what God is made of is getting Him him into the mass spectrometer.

#47548: Raven — 11/07  at  07:00 PM

I realize I'm mostly ignorant (by choice) of the intricacies of creationist thought, but how in the heck would a living dinosaur prove them right?

Everything proves them right--once you assume what you're trying to prove, and get rid of that pesky falsifiability, both an assertion and its opposite can simultaneously be "valid" creationist "proofs".

#47550: — 11/07  at  07:14 PM

...but how in the heck would a living dinosaur prove them right?

These people think in monolithic terms. Anything that shows the Mainstream View to be wrong, even in the slightest detail, is evidence that it's all wrong, the gawdless evilutionists are wilfully stupid, etc. "Evolution" says that dinosaurs (except the avians) have been gone for 65My. Find a living dino, and "Evolution" is wrong, QED.

About the site ref'd by PZ: I note they don't seem to realize that neither plesiosaurus nor basilosaurus were dinosaurs. And someone should tell them that the latter is an early whale -- you know, one of those transitional forms they say don't exist?

#47551: PZ Myers — 11/07  at  07:31 PM
Do you really think these creationists are at all concerned about the niceties of taxonomy, fact, and science?

#47552: coturnix — 11/07  at  07:31 PM
Speaking of Pullman , I just bought the trilogy, but it will have to wait until Lemony Snicket is done...

#47554: — 11/07  at  07:34 PM
I note they don't seem to realize that neither plesiosaurus nor basilosaurus were dinosaurs. And someone should tell them that the latter is an early whale -- you know, one of those transitional forms they say don't exist?

Nonsense: Basilosaurus is a lizard. Just look at the name: -saurus means lizard. Q.E.D.

(Apologies. Having seen too many claims along the lines of "Australopithecus couldn't be a human ancestor because the name means 'southern ape,' and is therefore only an ape," I couldn't resist.)

#47564: Blaze — 11/07  at  08:26 PM
Yeah, I've seen some shots of Manipogo, and since we're talking sea monster endowments, I can tell ya they don't call that frisky devil MANipogo for nuthin'. The surgin' sturgeon, indeed.

http://www.frinktank.com/blogs/index.php?title=ol_nessie_and_jesus_kind_of_keep_it_real&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

#47573: — 11/07  at  09:14 PM

Myers: I'd like to be there when some church group actually spots one.

Myers: Do you really think these creationists are at all concerned about the niceties of taxonomy, fact, and science?

Yet, the "church group" cited is obviously very careful not to make premature assertions of fact:

[near top of page] Note: There Will Probably NOT Be A Search for Manipogo In 2004

[near bottom of page]This document was last modified on Fri Oct 28 2005

#47580: Joel Sax — 11/07  at  10:38 PM
Interesting how the Creationist version of Manipogo looks like a short-necked pleiosaur....they just can't give up the dinosaurs, can they?

#47723: — 11/08  at  12:18 PM
<ahem>

Moby Dick anyone?

(Well, somebody had to say it)

#47784: — 11/08  at  05:53 PM
The "sea monster" in the old picture at the link is an oarfish. Take a look:

http://www.thejump.net/id/oarfish.htm

These things are, as the site says, the source of most of the sea monster sightings. The reason: well, a crested, multi-colored fish that's 50 feet or so long IS a sea monster.

Trackback: A Real Moby Dick? Tracked on: The Huge Entity (72.9.234.70) at 2005 11 10 10:24:20
This is great. Perspective-Shift-Ahoy! [Egede's depiction of the 'monster'] "In 1741, a Danish-Norwegian missionary named Hans Egede published what became a famous account of "a most dreadful monster" that appeared off the coast of Greenland. ...

#50177: — 11/22  at  01:37 AM
Good day my friend, im not the type to argue, im a man of few words and yes i believe in God, and believe he is the creator of all things just a Genesis says, please hear me out. Here's something to think about... We're living in the end times my friend... Does it not speak of sea monster(s) in revelations? Hmmmmm Plus EVOLUTION!!! HAHA!!! Why dont I have wings? Why dont I have gills? Why isn't my skin fire proof? If there were still a dinosaur or sea serpent obviously there's not such thing as evolution cuz...it wouldn't be a sea monster after these many years, now would it? Start praying to the Lord God while u still have time. God loves us all. Try prayer, you'll see a change for the better.