Things To Talk About Over The Weekend - The Discovery Of Atlantis And A Giant Snake

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: CNET News / Associated Content

You know that two free days away from work can sometimes lead to periods of absolute boredom. I mean, what is there to talk about with your significant other? How will you keep the kids entertained? Well I have the answer, go on Google Earth and take a look at the lost city of Atlantis. No, I didn't say Atlanta, I said Atlantis.

If that doesn't eat up a good fifteen minutes, then you can all gather around the old fireplace and talk about the possibility of giant snakes existing in Borneo.

In all, I think that these topics will spice up your otherwise boring lives.

Lets take a look at these two interesting stories that have been burning up the news wire this morning.

A British aeronautical engineer, with a lot of free time, was testing out the latest Google Earth 5.0, which includes areas under the ocean, when he discovered a very unusual formation off the cost of Africa.

The formation, which looks very much like an overview of a modern city street grid, was discovered some 600 miles west of the Canary Islands. The exact coordinates are 31 15'15.53N, 24 15'30.53W.

I put that last part in because I know damn well that you are going to go looking for it as soon as you get done reading this.

Many people believe that this may be the location of the mythical continent of Atlantis, which was described in the writings of Plato. According to the philosopher, Atlantis was the home of a society that was far more advanced, technologically speaking, than any know civilization. The continent, and its people, were destroyed by a massive natural catastrophe, never to be heard from again.

Google, of course, is trying to play this down. In a statement released by the company they assert that the image was created by a sonar glitch, "In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor. The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data."

That sounds like an odd explanation for what people are seeing online. It indeed may be true, but it does seem strange that the phenomena hasn't been reported anywhere else?

Now lets get on to something that interests just about everyone, giant snakes.

There are a couple of photographs making the rounds that allegedly show a 100ft long snake swimming up a river in Kapit. These photos were allegedly taken by an anonymous member of a disaster relief team working in the area.

Many local residents are convinced that the giant serpent is the legendary "Nabau", which according to superstition can morph into other animals. The legend states that the mythical creature changes into other, smaller and harmless looking, animals to lure in its prey, before transforming back into a giant venomous snake.

Indeed there are many skeptics out there that believe that these images are nothing but a hoax, including the 79 year old Iban tribal elder, Edward Majah, who called the photos, "rubbish." Others who have seen the images believe them to be the creation of a faker using "Photoshop."

Indeed it is hard to tell if the photos are fake or not.

There have been numerous reports of giant snakes over the centuries. In the 1950s a Belgian helicopter pilot photographed a giant snake while on a mission in the Congo.

It also should be noted the late president Theodore Roosevelt issued a substantial cash reward for anyone could bring in the carcass of a snake over 45ft in length. In all the years that the bounty has been in effect no one has claimed it.