Friday, August 18, 2006

On this day in 1817, as newspaper reports began spinning tales of a sea serpent seen in the waters of Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Linnaean Society of New England put together a committee to gather evidence of the creature. They did, and eventually decided it was a wholly new animal, which they dubbed Scoliophis Atlanticus. Everyone else decided it was a publicity stunt on behalf of Gloucester. Combining two available items, a portrait of the Gloucester, MA harbor and a Playmobil Sea Serpent, we bring you this recreation of the sighting leading to all of this speculation.