Archive for the ‘Giant’ Category

Giant Snails Invade Florida!

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

It wasn’t too long ago that North America’s Hellmouth of a state was calling for people to go out into the wild and bag/kill as many giant pythons as they possibly could.
Now that that’s yesterday’s Nature versus Humankind battle is over, everyone’s favorite birthing place of weird EVERYTHING is taking us back to the good old days of that era of 1970s horror films when piranha, worms, snakes, rats, bears and even tadpoles decided they were tired of sharing the planet with us.

Just what the hell is this new scourge that’s coming to wreak havoc upon us now?

Brace yourselves, people…

Snails.

SNAILS!

And they’re exactly the kind of snails some of you are imagining right now…
Giant African Snails that can grow to 8 inches long, devour 500 different species of plants and (you’re going to slap your face like Maculay Culkin in Home Alone right about now) they are tearing through stucco and peoples’ homes! Not only that but the snails’ shells are big enough to puncture car tires because they’re Frogger-like skills are nonexistent!

Good luck, Florida.

[Huffington Post]

Posted in Africa, Animal Attack, Animals, Florida, Giant, Horror films, Monster Of The Week, Monsters, Nature, Nature Strikes Back, Snails, Weird Animals | 3 Comments »

Giant Squid Caught on Camera in the Wild For the First Time!

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

Giant squids are legendary.

They’ve taken on Moby Dick, Captain Nemo’s Nautilus and even a bunch of Goonies.

While giant squids have been captured in the past and alleged parts of them have surfaced here and there…seeing one in the wild has been something of a Holy Grail moment that misty-eyed scientists and cryptozoologists have dreamt about forever.

Everyone can prepare to drop your jaws because there is now video of one of these mysterious monsters going about its business deep in the Pacific Ocean.

A team of three Japanese scientists spent over 400 hours crammed in a 31 foot submersible over the course of 100 missions about 150 miles north of Iwo Jima.

At a depth of 2,066 feet, the lights from the submersible reflected onto the creature’s silver skin as it eyeballed the sub curiously before it swam off.

The Discovery Channel’s new branch, Curiosity, is keeping the footage secret until the season finale later this month when they’ll unveil it to the world for the first time…

Up until then? A lot of “Release the Kraken!” headlines.

[Discovery.com]

Posted in Animal, Creature, Deep Ocean, Discovery, Giant, Kraken, Marine Biology, Ocean, Sea Creature, Sea Monster, Squid | Comments Off on Giant Squid Caught on Camera in the Wild For the First Time!

Video: Really Freaking Massive Giant Salamanders Making a Comeback!

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Across North America various species of adorable little salamanders get ‘oohs’ and ‘awwws’ get talked to like babies.

In Japan, home of fun little critters like Godzilla, things are a little different.

For a while the giant salamander population has been in a severe decline due to dams being built in their spawning path. That’s all changing as a new’ environmentally-minded generation has taken to protecting the species.

While North America does have a ‘giant’ salamander species known as the ‘hellbender’, its ‘giant’ status is misleading. At 9 inches, the North American salamander is laughable compared to its Asian cousins which can reach five feet in length and weigh in at around 80 lbs!

Posted in Animals, Giant | 3 Comments »

How P.T. Barnum Ripped Off Another Man’s Giant And Got Away With It

Monday, February 28th, 2011

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They are represented in myth, legend and even religion for centuries, but what happened to our fascination for giants? While other cryptids bask in our attention, the lumbering behemoths haven’t had a spot in the cultural sunshine in decades.

But yet, there was a time in this country when folks would flock from miles around to get a glimpse of proof this curious creatures existed. Even if the evidence was completely manufactured.

In the 19th century, facsimiles of giants and petrified humans captured the public imagination at sideshows. The most famous of these fakes was the Cardiff Giant, a 10-foot-long, 3,000 pound block of gypsum that was sculpted to look like a fossilized man and was exhibited in upstate New York in late 1869. The Cardiff Giant was the brainchild of tobacconist George Hull, who was inspired by the Nephilim of the Book of Genesis to create his oversized hoax.

The Cardiff Giant was so popular it was blatantly copied and recreated by the Patron Saint of this very site P.T. Barnum. Hull was so incensed by ripoff and attempted to sue Barnum. However, he ran into legal issues when he realized he’d have to vouch for the authenticity of his giant to claim damages.

[io9]

Posted in Giant | 2 Comments »