Exploration of the far reaches of the world has generally been a positive thing (unless you were someone already living in the place that was just “discovered”). We’ve figured out the world isn’t flat, that there is no “Northwest Passage” (at least not a simple one), and that sea monsters do not lie in wait as you head to deeper waters. Or do they? (insert stunned emotion music here “Dum, dum, duuuuuuum”).

A recent expedition to Antarctica turned up some pretty interesting creatures that on some level I’m sure we are better off as humans for knowing they exist, but I’m just not sure how yet. Take a look at this video and you can see one of the things they discovered, the Giant Sea Spider.

As a rule, the words “Giant” and “Spider” shouldn’t be used together and this certainly is no exception. However, I do have to say that they look almost angelic as they swim along. Right? Almost, cute. You might even buy your kid one of these things if they made them as a Beany Baby.So, I thought I should get a better look. Keep in mind, these suckers can be, in the explorers words, “the size of dinner plates.” I don’t know why of all the things in the world to use as a comparative object they picked tableware, but you get the picture. This is what they look like up close.

Just like spiders, only ten times more horrifying. Have fun trying to fall asleep tonight.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Posted on February 19th, 2008 by Jonathan - Everyone But You
Filed under: Science

Can't get enough? Here are some more totally random posts:
• Pooka: Why You Should Worry–March 18–10:06 PM
• What Do WPTZ, WNYT, WTEN, Capital News 9 and WRGB Have in Common? –June 10 -4:01 PM
• February 13 — 5:35 PM — All of Rocket’s Men on Capitol Hill and Google Trends