Name: Scary But True: Four Sea 'Monsters' That Really Exist
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Scary But True: Four Sea 'Monsters' That Really Exist

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When most of us think of monsters, we probably think of the boogeyman or the mummy. For the most part, they’re largely figments of our imaginations, creative creatures created by clever cinematographers. However, what we don’t realize is that contrary to popular belief, monsters really do exist.&nbsp;No, they’re not lurking around the corner, ready to lunge at us… but they are swimming in the deepest parts of the ocean. In the past, humankind came up with inventive ways to try to describe these mysterious creatures they saw while sailing the seven seas.&nbsp;Whether they were convinced they encountered the Kraken or they believed mermaids were trying to lure them to their deaths on the rocks in the distance, they weren’t quite sure what they were seeing. The truth is, they really were monsters – just not as we’d imagine them.Imagine this. You’re idly paddling along in your canoe, just trying to catch a few fish to feed your family, when you see a shadow of movement in the water below you. You squint, trying to make sense of what you just saw, when it happens again.&nbsp;This time, though, the entire sea below you has just been blotted out. Yes, that’s right. You've just been paid a visit by a giant squid. At a whopping forty-three feet long and clocking in at nearly two thousand pounds in weight, very few sea creatures compare to this behemoth.&nbsp;Wikimedia CommonsIt’s likely that this animal even inspired the Kraken, with how huge it is. And just in case you were wondering, yes, they are carnivores. So that dangerously sharp-looking beak on its face, hiding behind its seven-foot-long tentacles? It is definitely designed to tear into flesh.Very few types of sea life can fill us with the same amount of dread as the shark. Heck, movies have been made about them, such as Jaws and The Reef. Just the word “shark!” uttered at the beach is enough to send everyone scrambling to the shore to safety.&nbsp;But while the great white shark is definitely something to be cautious around, it doesn’t hold a candle to the frilled shark. These sharks have been dubbed “a living fossil,” as they’ve been around for millennia.&nbsp;They average about six and a half feet in length, but what really makes them so terrifying to behold is their teeth. If it opens its mouth to take a chunk out of your flesh, the last thing you’ll see is its twenty-five rows of jagged teeth, a grand total of three hundred backward-facing chompers ready to snack on you.Most people don’t tend to think of crabs as scary. After all, unlike sharks, they’re often on the menu at many upscale restaurants. But that doesn’t mean that the Japanese spider crab isn’t going to haunt your nightmares tonight.&nbsp;With its long and spindly legs and its black, glassy eyes, you don’t want its gaze landing upon you when it's hungry. Sure, these creatures are scavengers and not hunters, but who’s to say they won’t accidentally nibble on you if they get confused?&nbsp;Wikimedia CommonsWhat makes them especially terrifying, though, is how large they are. One of the largest ones on record weighed an incredible forty-four pounds and had a leg span of thirteen feet long. That’s not all, though.&nbsp;​You see, these creatures only continue to keep growing and growing, molting every time they go up in size. And the largest one found? Well, it was only about four decades old, and it’s believed they can live up to a century. You do the math on that one.What makes this specific species of octopus so scary isn’t the fact that it can exceed six hundred pounds and more than thirty feet in length. It’s also not the fact that it can easily wrap us in one of its eight tentacles and squeeze the life out of us as it drags us down into the deep.&nbsp;No, what makes it really scary is how dang intelligent octopi truly are. Their brains are enormous compared to the rest of their bodies, and they have been observed opening jars and navigating mazes with finesse. Research has shown that they’re just as smart, if not smarter, than dogs.&nbsp;Except, of course, they’re not quite as cute or cuddly as our favorite canine companions. That means that if one of them decides to hunt you, it’s not going to relent until it succeeds. Let’s just say it’s better to avoid swimming where they also happen to be, just to stay on the safe side.

When most of us think of monsters, we probably think of the boogeyman or the mummy. For the most part, they’re largely figments of our imaginations, creative creatures created by clever cinematographers. However, what we don’t realize is that contrary to popular belief, monsters really do exist.&nbsp;No, they’re not lurking around the corner, ready to lunge at us… but they are swimming in the deepest parts of the ocean. In the past, humankind came up with inventive ways to try to describe these mysterious creatures they saw while sailing the seven seas.&nbsp;Whether they were convinced they...

Scary But True: Four Sea 'Monsters' That Really Exist

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