It’s the end of the workweek and time for another episode of the Friday Smorgasbord. News of strange sea creatures invading the shores of Southern California captured our attention this week when an 18-foot Oarfish washed up near the shore. The dead fish was discovered about 20 feet of water by a dive instructor at a Southern California education facility. The fish was dragged to shore where the staff took photographs and then put it on ice to show to their students the next day. Pretty incredible experience for all involved.
[via Discovery News]
This large Oarfish discovery gets a lot of people wondering if this, or a similar creature we don’t know much about, could explain mysteries such as Scotland’s famous Loch Ness Monster. We can pretty much wipe “Nessy” off the Oarfish list as the rare critter is from a more temperate environment, but what else could it be? Discovery News has a few possibilities.
[via Discovery News]
Drones have gotten a bad rap thanks to military bombing use and police departments looking to use these remote “eyes in the sky” but researchers are hoping to change that perception. The team from Stanford — Ved Chirayath, an aeronautics researcher, and Steven Palumbi, a marine biologist — have started using an unmanned drone and cutting-edge computer software to map and measure centuries-old corals. Mounted with numerous cameras, this “reef” drone is able to fly 200 feet in the air while mapping detailed images from the reefs below.
[via RedOrbit]
A report coming out of the European Union is showing that olive oil, fish and organic foods are at the list of fraudulent items found in markets in Europe. This is not surprising considering for the average person, detection is hard. The only thing that may differentiate a regular banana and an organic banana is a label and where we find it. The most disturbing thing in this report? Shops testing calamari rings to make sure they are not pigs anuses.
[via ABC News]
