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Discover the Mysteries: Top 9 Unbelievable Fun Facts About the Loch Ness Monster

illustration of the-loch-ness-monster
Dive into the mysterious depths of Loch Ness as we unveil some truly fascinating and lesser-known tidbits about everyone's favorite elusive aquatic giant – the legendary Loch Ness Monster!

1. Swimming Elephant Ancestor

Before Nessie dabbled in becoming a plesiosaur, she was just a humble and prehistoric swimming elephant finding her way in life: The first evidence of an aquatic creature in Loch Ness dates back 1,500 years to the Pictish era, with carved standing stones depicting a beast with flippers and an elongated beak, and was first documented in Saint Columba's biography in AD 565.
Source => pbs.org

2. Oceanic Hide-and-Seek

In an oceanic version of "Where's Waldo?", ancient mariners faced their fair share of hide-and-seek escapades with giant sea creatures playing peekaboo: Aristotle documented sightings of colossal beams of black wood and gargantuan red shields with multiple fins gracing the seas, but no concrete evidence of their oceanic tag partners, like the Loch Ness Monster, has ever surfaced.
Source => wondersandmarvels.com

3. Nessie's Movie Prop Reappearance

In a plot twist worthy of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel, a long-lost movie prop made a dramatic reappearance: A 30ft (9m) model of the Loch Ness Monster created for the 1969 Sherlock Holmes film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, was rediscovered in the depths of the loch by a Norwegian underwater drone company nearly 50 years after it sank while being towed during filming.
Source => bbc.com

4. Frequent Nessie Sightings

Move over, paparazzi: even the elusive Loch Ness Monster has upped her game with more frequent celebrity sightings! Nessie's fan club was kept on their toes in 2018, with enthusiasts catching a glimpse of her mysterious aquatic figure not once, but eight times: Among these encounters, we have Dipak Ram and Tom Smith spotting a dark shadow near Dores beach on September 5th and Charlotte Robinson snapping what experts deemed the "best picture" of Nessie in years on August 17th, causing her fame to endure and mystify both locals and tourists alike.
Source => pressandjournal.co.uk

Loch Ness Fan Club Craze

5. Loch Ness Fan Club Craze

Believe it or Knot: Nessie's got a fan club that ain't all wet! Members of The Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club – hailing from the U.K. and beyond – dive deep into the lore and learnings of Scotland's most mysterious, underwater inhabitant. By ponying up a bit of coin, members can keep their eyes peeled for updates, newsletters, and even join the conversation on how to improve the club's communi-K-tion with kindred Nessie enthusiasts.
Source => lochness.co.uk

6. Sherlock's Underwater Nemesis

In a plot twist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud of, Sherlock's marine nemesis has resurfaced after lying low for nearly half a century: In 2019, a 30-foot model of the Loch Ness monster from the 1970 film "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" was discovered 180 meters underwater by a robot named Munin, who also debunked claims about the existence of a "Nessie trench" while searching the loch.
Source => theguardian.com

7. Nessie's Flipper Paparazzi

It was a flippin' good day for Nessie enthusiasts in 1975 when some underwater paparazzi snapped potentially incriminating photos of the elusive Loch Ness Monster: Backed by the likes of eminent scientists Harold "Doc" Edgerton and Sir Peter Scott, the images appeared to showcase the aquatic star's flippers and landed a starring role in a House of Commons hearing in London – a game-changing moment in the chronicles of Nessie-related affairs that led to more serious scientific probes into the mysterious creature's world.
Source => pbs.org

8. Whac-A-Nessie Game

Loch Ness Monster sightings are like a game of Whac-A-Mole: just when you think you've got one, it slips back into the water and disappears in a murky haze: Despite the "Surgeon's Photo" being revealed as a hoax in 1994, people still claim to spot the elusive creature with researchers continuously exploring the loch for any verifiable evidence that Nessie indeed calls it home.
Source => pbs.org

9. Saint Columba's Water Beast

They say Nessie's got some serious H2O creds, making waves in pop culture before it was even cool: The origin of the Loch Ness Monster legend dates back to the sixth century AD, when Saint Columba, an Irish monk, reported encountering a "water beast" in the River Ness that attacked a swimming man, sparking the enduring mystery and fascination with the elusive creature.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

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