"An 11-inch prawn? We're going to need a lot more cocktail sauce!"

There are a lot of weird animals underwater.  Due to the pressure, temperatures, and various other factors, marine life can get to be pretty weird.  With that in mind, what’s weirder than a giant version of a normally small creature?  Nothing, that’s what.  Hence, the reaction when scientists captured an 11-inch prawn-like creature while on a research mission.  The incredibly rare “supergiant amphipod” AKA a gigantic prawn was fished up off the coast of New Zealand.  Just for a comparison, a normal prawn is about 3 centimeters (1 inch) long.

“I stopped and thought ‘what on earth is that?’ whilst catching a glimpse of an amphipod far bigger than I ever thought possible,” said the University of Aberdeen’s Alan Jamieson, one of the researchers on the joint mission with Wellington’s NIWA marine research institute.  “It’s a bit like finding a foot-long cockroach.”

The so-called supergiant amphipod has only been caught once before.  In the 1980’s, another giant prawn-like creature was fished up off the waters of Hawaii.  That’s 4500 miles away from New Zealand, which has researchers speculating that the massive prawn might be a part of some new, heretofore undiscovered species.  Alongside the 28-centimeter giant that was caught, a second amphipod measuring an estimated 34 centimeters (13.38 inches) was also seen.

Tags: superprawn, giant prawn, New Zealand, supergiant amphipod, massive prawn-like creature fished up in New Zealand, fishing, unusual fishing finds, unusual animals, weird animals,  University of Aberdeen, Alan Jamieson, 11-inch prawn found in New Zealand, NIWA Marine Research institute

Usually, when someone talks about hot beats, it’s just because they really like the music.  However, one unnamed woman on a flight from Beijing, China, to Melbourne, Australia, got exposed to some really hot beats.  A woman’s headphone burst into flames while she was wearing them! It’s just not safe to enjoy yourself anymore, between […]

This will be the last Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to ever be on an airplane.  After all, the phone has been pulled from shelves and pockets all around the world, because the phones tend to, uh… catch fire and/or explode.  It’s not a laughing matter if you’re flying over the Rocky Mountains with one in […]

Since 2014, Craig Sager has been caught in the fight of his life.  He’s been battling leukemia since 2014, and he’s had multiple stem-cell treatments and rounds of radiation, and he continues to struggle against the disease for all he’s worth.  He’s been a very public face for most of his life, and now he’s engaged […]

The Red Cross is a wonderful organization.  When there’s trouble, the Red Cross is there setting up shelters and handing out food and water.  The Red Cross is normally very sensitive to the community needs around them, to boot.  However, sometimes, something will slip through the cracks that just looks wrong.  One of these things is […]

One of the most famous features of Matt Groening’s fictional town of Springfield is a strange one.  Springfield is home to a giant, perpetually burning tire fire.  I guess considering the town also has a nuclear plant that routinely leaks glowing green waste into the town’s water supply, the tire fire isn’t such a big […]

Gas prices don’t usually go down.  They go up.  Gas prices rose for decades, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, but always up on a long enough timeline.  Not long ago, $4 a gallon for gas was a very real proposition.  Nobody thought prices would go in the other direction, and yet… gas prices are going down […]

Fashion designers look for inspiration everywhere.  Some of it is pop culture, like Friday the 13th-inspired hoodies.  Other fashions are inspired by low culture, like deluxe Snuggies.  Some people turn to the culture of their past for inspiration, like the 8-bit video games they grew up on.  Italian fashion house Moschino is partnering with Nintendo […]