Alligator "knocks" on woman's door.

[Soloist]

Sounds a lot like the stories of various people fishing up some exotic species of dinosaur or something that coincidently never has official confirmation.

If I saw a 50 foot snake from the air and actually was able to measure it, I’m flying way too low for safety and about to stall.

Also a snake like this would be relatively easy to find and confirm now days. Perhaps not when it was possibly seen.

As for crocs… I’ve heard stories of really massive ones… supposedly reptiles keep growing indefinitely until something gets them sick or ate.

[ken_sylvania]

Nah, I’m not tossing Old Testament accounts into the “unverified claims” bin—that’s a different conversation altogether. I was referring to Ohio Jones’ vague “gathtimates” about a taller human, which sounds like speculation without hard evidence. When it comes to gigantism, I’m sticking to measurable records like the 19-foot alligator or 20.7-foot anaconda. If you’ve got specific accounts or evidence of giants or massive creatures, biblical or otherwise, I’m all ears—let’s dig into it!

You do realize who OJ was referring to, right?

Who?

I expect he was referring to Goliath of Gath and his relatives. Goliath's height being recorded as six cubits and a span, commonly thought to be in excess of 9 feet.

[JohnL]

You do realize who OJ was referring to, right?

Who?

I expect he was referring to Goliath of Gath and his relatives. Goliath's height being recorded as six cubits and a span, commonly thought to be in excess of 9 feet.

Oh yeah forgot about the fleeing to Gath.
Looks like the usual suspects have Lurched into taking fun threads too seriously again.

[Soloist]

Who?

I expect he was referring to Goliath of Gath and his relatives. Goliath's height being recorded as six cubits and a span, commonly thought to be in excess of 9 feet.

Oh yeah forgot about the fleeing to Gath.
Looks like the usual suspects have Lurched into taking fun threads too seriously again.

I think you’re still a bit young to be commenting on usual suspects. Maybe give it a few months more

[JohnL]

I expect he was referring to Goliath of Gath and his relatives. Goliath's height being recorded as six cubits and a span, commonly thought to be in excess of 9 feet.

Oh yeah forgot about the fleeing to Gath.
Looks like the usual suspects have Lurched into taking fun threads too seriously again.

I think you’re still a bit young to be commenting on usual suspects. Maybe give it a few months more

69 ain't young and I've been reading the archives.

[Ken]

Sounds a lot like the stories of various people fishing up some exotic species of dinosaur or something that coincidently never has official confirmation.

If I saw a 50 foot snake from the air and actually was able to measure it, I’m flying way too low for safety and about to stall.

Also a snake like this would be relatively easy to find and confirm now days. Perhaps not when it was possibly seen.

As for crocs… I’ve heard stories of really massive ones… supposedly reptiles keep growing indefinitely until something gets them sick or ate.

There are actual physical limits to what a skeletal and muscular structure of a particular animal will support. For both invertebrates and vertebrates. That is why you aren't ever going to encounter a 20 ft tall spider or ant. And why snakes and alligators can't get indefinitely large. It is physics (or geometry). The mass of an object goes up geometrically while the length goes up arithmetically. So once a snake or gator reaches a certain size, increases in length would make them too massive to move with their existing skeleton or muscles.

The same rules don't apply in the oceans because the oceans are a zero-gravity environment where animals are neutrally buoyant or close to it. That is how we get blue whales and things like giant crabs and clams that couldn't survive on land.

The dinosaurs were probably the outer edge of what is possible with vertebrate structures on land. But they evolved skeletons and muscle structures to accommodate their immense size. You can't just scale-up a modern snake or alligator and get the same thing. For example, here are the hip bones of a T-rex, the biggest of which measured about 43 ft long and were designed to carry their immense mass



And here are the hip bones of a crocodile, which even if you scaled them up to 40 ft t-rex size couldn't budge an animal that large

[Soloist]

There are actual physical limits to what a skeletal and muscular structure of a particular animal will support. For both invertebrates and vertebrates. That is why you aren't ever going to encounter a 20 ft tall spider or ant. And why snakes and alligators can't get indefinitely large. It is physics (or geometry). The mass of an object goes up geometrically while the length goes up arithmetically. So once a snake or gator reaches a certain size, increases in length would make them too massive to move with their existing skeleton or muscles.

The same rules don't apply in the oceans because the oceans are a zero-gravity environment where animals are neutrally buoyant or close to it. That is how we get blue whales and things like giant crabs and clams that couldn't survive on land.

The dinosaurs were probably the outer edge of what is possible with vertebrate structures on land. But they evolved skeletons and muscle structures to accommodate their immense size. You can't just scale-up a modern snake or alligator and get the same thing. For example, here is the hip bones of a T-rex, the biggest of which measured about 43 ft long and were designed to carry their immense mass

It’s not my area of study or even an area I’m remotely experienced in. I have heard it said before though that some species defy what we understand about aerodynamics.

[JohnL]

Mennonet archives are a bit like this. Good thing I didn't have much to do last winter.

[Soloist]

69 ain't young and I've been reading the archives.

Those archives are very interesting.

69? I noticed you mention academia did you have a field of study or what you taught?

[JohnL]

69 ain't young and I've been reading the archives.

Those archives are very interesting.

69? I noticed you mention academia did you have a field of study or what you taught?

Taught history and lit to high schoolers. Then became a college registrar. Then came to my senses and retired.
How about you?