Figure 1 – Apple Maps image possibly showing the Loch Ness monster.

When I was in the fifth grade, I had a huge argument with my teacher over the existence of the Loch Ness monster.  She declared me to be argumentative – I still have the report card.  I declared her to be close minded.  And I was determined to visit Inverness and its famous Loch – which I did a few years back. For me, a budding scientist then, it really was a lesson in open-mindedness and the importance of evidence.

Well, the years have past, and I will even more vehemently defend the scientific method.  Nessie has gone through a lot in the intervening years: including a serious argument against based on biomass and the publication of a photograph of a “fin” in the scientific journal Nature, which led to its being declared a protected species.  Then there was the sorry news that the clearest and most convincing photograph ever was indeed a fraud.  I had, and pretty much still do, or is it no longer, hold out much hope for the erstwhile plesiosaur.

Now here’s the thing.  Yesterday it was announced that 27 year old  Andrew Dixon claims to have been scanning Apple Maps and on zooming in seeing an image of the Loch Ness Monster.  Now wouldn’t that be lovely!  I am posting that picture as Figure 1.  I have unfortunately become just a bit jaded with age and suspect that it will be shown to be a fraud.  I will keep you “posted.” It is, after all, the age of Photoshop.  However, some people have independently found the image on their IPhones and IPads.  So for now we cannot be exactly sure what this is.  It is the spitting image of the plecostamus cat fish that I had in my  office aquarium.  However, that was not fifty feet long.  I remain hopeful that there are fifth grade teachers out there who will learn a lesson from all of this – probably not!