Comments on: The Tracks of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb A collection of Damn Interesting things Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:41:34 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: sweeper http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-23460 sweeper Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:31:35 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-23460 [quote]Marius said: "unless Nessie is a water breather, and not the air breather she is supposed to be". Who supposes her to be an air breather? [quote]Marius said:
“unless Nessie is a water breather, and not the air breather she is supposed to be”.
Who supposes her to be an air breather?

]]> By: wormpiano http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-21884 wormpiano Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:24:54 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-21884 Redmond O'Hanlon wrote extensively about Mokele Mbembe in his book "No Mercy", in which he travels to Lake Tele on foot (best travel book you'll ever read). He pretty much completely debunks Mokele Mbembe's (phsyical) existance. While in the middle of Lake Tele, he notices the water is only about 4 feet deep until it reaches thick, almost inpenetrable muck. Meaning that if Mokele Mbembe is swimming around in there, he is very flat and oddly-shaped. The "mysterious howling noises" are attributed to the sounds of monkeys - their voices echo across the lake. Being that Lake Tele is the only area of open space for hundreds of miles where the sound could actually echo, few recognize the sound. Lake Tele is a seasonal home to all manners of enormous pythons, commonly seen in and around the water. Much of the "huge figures" seen in the lake are likely pythons swimming across. Things are commonly attributed to superstition rather than science in the Congo - hence the common idea that there really is a monster living in there. People in the Congo believe in all manners of spirits, black magic, and unseen forces. A dinosaur in a lake in an unpopulated area of the jungle hundreds of miles from anything isn't very far fetched by Congo standards. Most of all, at one point in the book, Redmond asks two of his (guides? laborers? porters?) if Mokele Mbembe exists, to which they laugh in his face. They explain that Marcellin Agagna (the Congolese scientist who has taken all the blurry photos of Mokele Mbembe and led most of the expeditions to Lake Tele) perpetuates the story to "lure dumb white men like yourself out here for lots of money". Mokele Mbembe, they say, is a spiritual creature that exists in their minds, not in the physical world. Don't take any paranormal stories from Africa too seriously, they're a dime a dozen. Redmond O’Hanlon wrote extensively about Mokele Mbembe in his book “No Mercy”, in which he travels to Lake Tele on foot (best travel book you’ll ever read). He pretty much completely debunks Mokele Mbembe’s (phsyical) existance.

While in the middle of Lake Tele, he notices the water is only about 4 feet deep until it reaches thick, almost inpenetrable muck. Meaning that if Mokele Mbembe is swimming around in there, he is very flat and oddly-shaped.

The “mysterious howling noises” are attributed to the sounds of monkeys – their voices echo across the lake. Being that Lake Tele is the only area of open space for hundreds of miles where the sound could actually echo, few recognize the sound.

Lake Tele is a seasonal home to all manners of enormous pythons, commonly seen in and around the water. Much of the “huge figures” seen in the lake are likely pythons swimming across.

Things are commonly attributed to superstition rather than science in the Congo – hence the common idea that there really is a monster living in there. People in the Congo believe in all manners of spirits, black magic, and unseen forces. A dinosaur in a lake in an unpopulated area of the jungle hundreds of miles from anything isn’t very far fetched by Congo standards.

Most of all, at one point in the book, Redmond asks two of his (guides? laborers? porters?) if Mokele Mbembe exists, to which they laugh in his face. They explain that Marcellin Agagna (the Congolese scientist who has taken all the blurry photos of Mokele Mbembe and led most of the expeditions to Lake Tele) perpetuates the story to “lure dumb white men like yourself out here for lots of money”. Mokele Mbembe, they say, is a spiritual creature that exists in their minds, not in the physical world.

Don’t take any paranormal stories from Africa too seriously, they’re a dime a dozen.

]]> By: DontPanic http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-21705 DontPanic Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:18:40 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-21705 is it just me or is there nothing in the photo labelled 'Photo of Mokèlé-mbèmbé in the distance' is it just me or is there nothing in the photo labelled ‘Photo of Mokèlé-mbèmbé in the distance’

]]> By: sid http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-21675 sid Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:44:09 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-21675 "There are crypozoologists in the world who would say that it/they are real living dinosaurs of the sauropod family still roaming the earth." I think the term is "cryptozoologists," according to most references I've seen. “There are crypozoologists in the world who would say that it/they are real living dinosaurs of the sauropod family still roaming the earth.”

I think the term is “cryptozoologists,” according to most references I’ve seen.

]]> By: DeliveryMcGee http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-21670 DeliveryMcGee Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:42:28 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-21670 [quote]Bolens said: ". . . one realizes that a surviving dinosaur species is really not far fetched."[/quote] Of course it isn't (though neither of your examples is all that related to dinosaurs). There are all kinds of surviving dinosaur species. I have one in a cage in my living room. [quote]Nick Jones said: "(The period goes on the inside or the outside of the quotes?)"[/quote] Depends on where you're from. Brits put the punctuation outside the quotes, Americans put it inside. [quote]Bolens said: “. . . one realizes that a surviving dinosaur species is really not far fetched.”[/quote]
Of course it isn’t (though neither of your examples is all that related to dinosaurs). There are all kinds of surviving dinosaur species. I have one in a cage in my living room.

[quote]Nick Jones said: “(The period goes on the inside or the outside of the quotes?)”[/quote]
Depends on where you’re from. Brits put the punctuation outside the quotes, Americans put it inside.

]]> By: Nick Jones http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-19434 Nick Jones Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:57:17 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-19434 Just in case anyone was wondering about the pronunciation as much as I was, it is apparently "moe-kay-la-em-bem-bay." (Never mind, I figured it out for myself.) Just in case anyone was wondering about the pronunciation as much as I was, it is apparently “moe-kay-la-em-bem-bay.” (Never mind, I figured it out for myself.)

]]> By: Nick Jones http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-19406 Nick Jones Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:09:46 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-19406 Just in case anyone was wondering about the pronunciation as much as I was, it is apparently "moe-kay-la-em-bem-bay". (The period goes on the inside or the outside of the quotes?) Just in case anyone was wondering about the pronunciation as much as I was, it is apparently “moe-kay-la-em-bem-bay”. (The period goes on the inside or the outside of the quotes?)

]]> By: kgy121 http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tracks-of-the-mokl-mbmb#comment-12541 kgy121 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:59:00 +0000 http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=257#comment-12541 <p><span class='quote'>New species are still being cataloged in Africa—and other parts of the world—though none quite so big.</span></p><p> Well, it's still not as big as the bloop. We haven't found that one either. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=517</p> New species are still being cataloged in Africa—and other parts of the world—though none quite so big.

Well, it’s still not as big as the bloop. We haven’t found that one either. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=517

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