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20 Amazing Facts
- news stories that escape the headlines!
Posted on August 28, 2009
By Daily Mail Reporter
A mysterious 'alien like' creature horrified holidaymakers after it washed up on a beach on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
The writhing mass of tentacles, which measured at least 6ft from end to end, was described by a zoology expert today as 'like something out of Doctor Who'.
Hundreds of people flocked to Oxwich Beach near Swansea to catch a glimpse of the monster.
The mysterious 'alien like' creature measured 3ft long
But fears of a UFO invasion were put to rest as scientists revealed it was a seething mass of goose barnacles that was swept up from the depths of the ocean by bad weather.The barnacles - long writhing stalks or pendulates, tipped with shells - are normally found deep below the waves, but were washed up clinging to a log.
Professor Paul Brain, of Swansea University, said: 'One child screamed out that it resembled something from Dr Who and I would have to agree with her - it made very bizarre viewing.
The mass of writhing tentacles was washed up on Gower Beach
'In fact they were probably the biggest specimens of free-floating goose barnacles I've seen.
'The log is about two metres long and as thick as a telegraph pole so I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple of thousand barnacles on there.'
Holidaymaker Rebecca Porter said the log was like 'a large living sea monster'.
She said: 'The stalk on which the puffin-shaped head sat on was soft and rubbery and moved like a snake.
'They appeared to be attached to a piece of driftwood but it could hardly be seen as it was densely covered with these huge tentacles that opened and closed, thrusting out fronds like uncurling ferns.'
The mass of writhing goose tentacles are reminiscent of the 'Ood' from Doctor Who
The tentacled creature relies on water motion for feeding - leading to it frequently being washed up on shore.
The barnacle extends its fan-like array of limbs to catch plankton, and attaches itself to surfaces by its stalk - leaving it unable to move from the point it is fixed.
There was also a second barnacle-covered log, measuring around 1ft in length, which washed up alongside the bigger one.
Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula, Wales, where the strange tentacled creature washed up
Professor Brain said: 'They tend to live in the oceans and can attach themselves to the bottom of ships.
'It's normally found in quite deep water but occasionally they can be found on debris that has become dislodged from the sea bed and has washed up on the shore.
'I would think the bad weather caused by the jet stream in the past month has probably dislodged these barnacle infested logs from their resting places, giving people a rare look at them for free on the beach.'
Professor Brain added: 'They're actually a delicacy in Spain although I haven't seen any Spanish people trying to chisel them off.
'Back in the old days, people thought barnacle geese hatched from them. A Welsh monk in the 12th century, Giraldus Cambrensis, even claimed to have seen geese hatching from them.'
In Portugal and Spain, the barnacles are a widely consumed and expensive delicacy known as percebes. They have a briny taste and are served steaming hot with their triangular shells still attached.
Belgium
Belgian historian Jo Gerard recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the area of "the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals
A Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. They supposedly called them "French", as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time.
Whether or not Belgians invented them, "frites" became the national snack and a substantial part of both national dishes, making the Belgians their largest per capita consumers in Europe and their "symbolic" creators.
France
Many Americans attribute the dish to France — although in France they are almost exclusively thought of as Belgian — and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches" ("Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings") in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson's hand (circa 1801-1809) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien. In addition, from 1813 on, recipes for what can be described as french fries, occur in popular American cookbooks. By the late 1850s, one of these mentions the term "French fried potatoes".
Recipes for fried potatoes (not clearly specified how) in French cookbooks date back at least to Menon's Les soupers de la cour (1755). It is true that eating potatoes was promoted in France by Parmentier, but he did not mention fried potatoes in particular. In French, they are simply called "pommes de terres frites" or, more commonly, simply "pommes frites" or "frites".
Source : Wikipedia
The Origin Of French Fries!
The revolting 'Dr Who' sea monster that terrified tourists
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1204196/Dr-Who-like-monster-stuns-sunbathers-washes-Welsh-beach.html#ixzz0NyiRmORQ
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A judge ruled in Liskula Cohen's favor Monday!
Liskula Cohen
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Other News - Links
Posted on August 25, 2009
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Posted on August 22, 2009
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Other News - Links
Posted on August 20, 2009
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Other News - Links
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