Uncle John's Creature Feature Bathroom Reader For Kids Only!

by Bathroom Readers' Institute

  WHERE’D IT GO?

  The Greek philosopher Plato first wrote about this mysterious lost world in 355 B.C. He even described the layout of the city in great detail, included its network of canals. Plato believed Atlantis was located west of the “Pillars of Hercules,” the old name for the Strait of Gibraltar. That’s the narrow channel that divides Spain from Morocco, and the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. For centuries, explorers and historians thought the Azores, a series of lonely islands dotting a remote section of the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar, were the remnants of the mountain peaks of Atlantis. But a geological survey of the ocean floor showed it to be covered with a thick layer of undisturbed mud that took millions of years to accumulate. There was no evidence of a sinking landmass or earthquake.

  THE MINOAN SOLUTION

  A history professor named K.T. Frost came up with a more likely candidate. The island of Crete lies only a few hundred miles south of the Greek mainland in the Aegean Sea. Centuries before Plato’s time, it was home to the Minoans, a brilliant civilization that ruled the Mediterranean. Like the Atlanteans, the Minoans were more advanced than their Greek neighbors. They had great palaces filled with beautiful paintings. And like the Atlanteans, the Minoans vanished almost overnight.

  A likely spot for the city of Atlantis can be found 10 miles off the coast of Crete on the small island of Santorini. Today Santorini is actually several little islands ringing a central lagoon, but 2,500 years ago it was one big island with a volcano at its center. In the year 1500 B.C.—900 years before Plato’s time—that volcano exploded. The explosion caused a tidal wave 100 feet high, which swept over the sea and a mile inland, obliterating the great Minoan civilization in the same way Plato described the end of Atlantis.

  THE SEARCH GOES ON

  But some experts aren’t satisfied with the Minoan theory, since Plato wrote that the fall of Atlantis occurred 9,000 years before his time, not 900. And he was adamant that the continent of Atlantis lay to the west of Greece, not to the south like Crete. So explorers continue to scour the oceans of the world for evidence of Atlantis. So far, no one has been able to provide convincing proof that Atlantis was ever more than a figment of Plato’s imagination. But that hasn’t stopped adventurers from trying. One theory suggests that the great city was indeed in the Atlantic Ocean, but much farther away, in the Bermuda Triangle off the coast of Florida. Others put the lost continent back in the Mediterranean, near the island of Cyprus, or in the North Atlantic, near Ireland. And the most extreme theory says that Atlantis was really on the other side of the world…in the South China Sea, off the coast of Vietnam.

  FISH CAN FLY?

  Not every fish in the sea is a swimmer.

  FLYING FISH. The 50 species of flying fish around the world come in many colors and shapes, but they all have one thing in common—huge pectoral (chest) fins. These “wings” let flying fish escape predators by leaping out of the water and gliding for up to 350 feet! They can launch themselves into the air at 30 mph, too, which makes them difficult to catch. Unfortunately, they don’t have much control over their landing, so flying fish often wind up stranded on the decks of boats.

  MUDSKIPPERS. These little fish (1–3 inches) can’t fly, but they can walk. They spend more of their lives out of the water than in it. In fact, they walk faster than they swim. Their pectoral fins work much like legs, which is great for fish that live in tidal areas where the water comes and goes unpredictably. Mudskippers have gills like regular fish, but they can also absorb oxygen right through their skin.

  DON’T BITE ME!

  The eel with sharp teeth and a bad rep.

  Okay, first of all, the moray eel is not an eel. Or a sea snake. It’s a fish. Two hundred species of morays live in tropical seas around the world. Sometimes they’re called the painted eel because of the amazing variety of patterns and colors they have as camouflage. Some morays are polka-dotted; others are orange, bright yellow, or even zebra-striped. But unlike other fish, morays don’t have scales—they have skin. It’s thick and tough and covered with slime.

  With its mouthful of sharp teeth, the moray eel looks really nasty. But it’s actually a shy, docile creature. It can’t see very well, so it would much rather spend its day holed up in a small rocky crevice than venture out in the open to bite off the toes of a nosy diver. So why do morays bare their teeth like they’re snarling? They have to keep their mouths open to breathe. But be careful! If you bother one by sticking your hand near its hiding place, you may get a vicious bite. It’s not because the moray eel’s a meanie, though. It’s because you just scared the slime out of it!

  GODS OF THE SEA

  Confronted with the awesome power of the ocean, ancient people believed there had to be a god behind it.

  POSEIDON

  Origin: Greece

  Background: Poseidon lives in a beautiful palace in the kingdom of Atlantis. He’s usually seen with a horse, carrying a three-pronged pitchfork known as a trident. It’s a good idea not to upset Poseidon—he tends to cause earthquakes when he gets angry. (He’s also the god of horses, rivers…and earthquakes.)

  ÆGIR

  Origin: Scandinavia

  Background: Ægir is a giant, and he loves to party. His elaborate banquets are famous among the other Norse gods. Ægir has no problem sinking a boat, and carrying off its cargo and crew to his golden palace at the bottom of the sea. To stay on Ægir’s good side, Viking sailors would kill a prisoner as a sacrifice before setting sail.

  RYUJIN

  Origin: Japan

  Background: Ryujin owns the magical Tide Jewels that control the tides and make tsunamis. He is the dragon god of the sea, but may also appear as a human being. In his huge red and white coral palace on the ocean bottom, human fish are his servants and sea turtles are his personal messengers. One day in Ryujin’s palace is equal to 100 years on land.

  KANALOA

  Origin: Hawaii

  Background: Also called the Great Octopus, Kanaloa is magician, a healer, and god of the underworld. He lives in a place known as the “lost islands” and is almost always seen with Kane, the god of the land and the trees, either fishing, sailing, or finding fresh water. Kanaloa always takes the shape of an octopus or squid. Hawaiian fishermen still look to him for protection.

  MANANNAN MAC LIR

  Origin: Ireland

  Background: This god has a cloak of invisibility, and can forecast the weather. Manannan mac Lir is most often seen riding over the waves in his chariot, wearing a helmet of flames. He also owns a magical ship, the Wave Sweeper, which doesn’t need wind or sails to speed across the ocean.

  LEMANJA

  Origin: Africa

  Background: The Queen of the Sea, and protector of sailors and fishermen, Lemanja is not only beautiful, but compassionate, too. Anyone who dies at sea may live with her in her palace at the bottom of the sea. Sometimes she rises to the surface to listen to the songs sailors sing to her.

  FREE WILLY

  The star of three major motion pictures was an orca named Keiko.

  Keiko was two years old when he was captured by a fisherman off the coast of Iceland and sold to a marine amusement park. Thus began his long career in show business: Keiko performed tricks in Iceland and Canada before he finally ended up at Reino Aventura, an amusement park in Mexico City. The public loved Keiko, but living in a cramped freshwater tank isn’t good for an orca. In 1992 Keiko was discovered by Hollywood and starred in the movie Free Willy, about a boy who wanted to free a killer whale from a marine theme park. In a life-imitates-art moment, fans of the movie formed the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation to help Keiko escape his miserable life in Mexico City. He was airlifted first to Oregon, and then to Iceland where he swam in salt water and was taught how to hunt live fish like other orcas. When Keiko was finally released into the open waters, he swam 870 miles to the Taknes Fjord in Norway. He died at the ripe old age of 27, free at last.

  WOOF! IT’S A WHALE

  The ancestor of
today’s whales looked a lot like man’s best friend.

  Whales are huge, have no legs, and live in the ocean, right? Well, that’s true today, but 50 million years ago, the first whale actually looked more like a dog. It wasn’t very big, either—about the size of a wolf. It didn’t even live in the ocean. Pakicetus (its scientific name) hunted fish along the shores of the shallow seas that covered the Punjab region of Asia. Today the Punjab, which is in India and Pakistan, is almost a desert.

  How do scientists know pakicetus was a whale? Because of the unusual structure of the ear region of its skull—a shape found only in whales, dolphins, and their ancestors.

  THE LARGEST LIVING THING

  It’s over a thousand miles long…and it’s ALIVE!

  WHAT IS…

  …the largest living organism on the planet?

  …one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World?

  …and something so big it can be seen from the International Space Station?

  IF YOU GUESSED THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, YOU’RE RIGHT!

  The Great Barrier Reef stretches for 1,616 miles off the northeast coast of Australia, and consists of more than 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands.

  (Wait a minute, you’re thinking. I thought you said it was alive.)

  It is. Although those islands and undersea reefs look and feel as hard as rock, they’re actually made up of millions of tiny animals called coral polyps. These little creatures live in vast colonies in the tropical seas of the world. They build hard houses for themselves out of calcium carbonate. As they die, new polyps build new houses on top of the old ones. These polyps are very small, maybe the size of your fingernail, and only grow a few inches per year. But after 10,000 years, that makes for a lot of reef. In fact, it’s the Great Barrier Reef—which is almost the same size as California, and the largest structure ever built by living things. (So much for the Empire State Building, the Pyramids, and the Great Wall of China!)

  It’s also one of the richest habitats for marine life in the world. Over 1,500 species of fish call it home. So do 8,000 types of sponges, worms, shellfish, and crustaceans. There are 800 types of starfish and urchins alone. Humpback whales and dolphins breed there. Six of the seven species of sea turtle roam its lagoons. Poisonous sea snakes and jellyfish, too. Dugongs, the gentle cousins of the manatee, loll in its waters. And of course, there are always lots of sharks.

  The Great Barrier Reef, seen from space.

  SLIMY SEA MOVIES

  These movies will make you want to stay on land forever.

  1. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

  A cruise ship gets flipped by a monster wave. Next time, take a plane to your vacation spot.

  2. The Abyss (1989)

  Aliens with attitude at the bottom of the ocean. What could be better?

  3. Titanic (1997)

  The biggest ship ever built runs into an iceberg. Byebye, Titanic!

  4. Waterworld (1995)

  The polar ice caps have melted and the entire globe is covered in water. A peek at the future after global warming?

  5. Jaws (1975)

  “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...” Enough said.

  6. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

  A mutant fish-man terrorizes the coast of Florida. Look close, and you can see the zipper on his costume when he swims by!

  7. The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)

  A nerdy human becomes a nerdy fish and saves the world. Yeah, right...

  8. Moby Dick (1956)

  Crazy Captain Ahab hunts the great white whale. Or is it the other way around?

  9. Deep Rising (1998)

  A monster squid attacks a cruise ship. Help!

  10. The Perfect Storm (2000)

  An itty-bitty fishing boat meets a monster wave. Guess who loses?

  KILLER CLAMS…NOT!

  A big mollusk with a bad reputation.

  Giant clams are big. Really big. They can grow to the size of a beach umbrella and weigh over 500 pounds. They’re so big that they were once thought to be maneaters—divers told tales of open clams snapping shut on unwary victims and not letting go. Old horror movies are full of scenes of killer clams chomping down scuba divers. The belief was so common that early versions of the U.S. Navy Diving Manual included instructions for escaping a giant clam’s death-grip.

  Actually, the giant clam is more dangerous out of the water than in: Most giant clam injuries occur when people drop the heavy shells on their toes. In reality, the giant clam closes its shell so slowly that you’d have to be sound asleep not to notice it shutting on you.

  The strangest thing about the giant clam is that it’s part animal and part plant. Like plants, it uses sunlight to make food. And just like many of the marine animals that share its home on the coral reef, the giant clam filters food from the ocean. With two ways of getting food, maybe that’s why they grow so big. One thing’s for certain, the giant clam is not a killer—unless of course, someone drops one on your head.

  GLOBSTERS

  What’s shapeless, looks like goop, and really, really stinks?

  Aglobster is a very weird, completely baffling object that might be found on any beach. Think of a big pile of jelly-like, fatty flesh. There might be a huge tentacle or a strange-looking flipper sticking out of the goop. Sometimes it has hair, but it never has bones, scales, or cartilage. And the worst part: It stinks…a lot. Most globsters are eventually identified as the fatty remains of dead whales or giant squids. Some of the hardest to identify have turned out to be dead basking sharks, one of the largest (and strangest) fish in the ocean. But some globsters remain unidentified—a gooey, gross reminder that there are still unsolved mysteries in the deep.

  SLIMY SEA FACT

  Carolus Linnaeus, the great Swedish scientist who created the naming system we use to label all living things, was a steadfast believer in sea monsters.

  SEA ANIMAL QUIZ #2: BATHING BEAUTY?

  1. It’s the only marine mammal that can live in fresh or salt water, as long as the water is shallow and warm.

  2. Its closest relatives are elephants, hyraxes (a rabbit-sized rodent from the Middle East), and aardvarks.

  3. It has three to four fingernails on each of its flippers.

  4. It has a mouthful of wide, flat teeth called “marching molars.” It constantly replaces them, just like a shark—when one falls out, another moves forward.

  5. It has a tail shaped like a paddle.

  6. It knows how to have fun in the water. It can do headstands, tail stands, somersaults, barrel rolls—even bodysurf!

  7. It farts a lot! That’s because it only eats plants—as much as 110 pounds a day.

  8. It sounds like a mouse, with squeaks, whistles, and chirps.

  9. A grown member of this species can be as big as a pickup truck.

  10. When European sailors first saw this creature, they thought it was a mermaid.

  WHAT IS IT?

  ANSWER:

  THE MANATEE

  Let’s face it—it’s hard to imagine how ancient sailors could have mistaken the homely manatee for a beautiful mermaid, but they did. Commonly known as the sea cow, the manatee lives in the warm, shallow coastal waters of Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, and the Amazon. Its cousin, the dugong, lives in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. Manatees are gentle, slow-moving animals with few natural enemies. In fact, humans are the cause of most manatee deaths. Some get sick from eating old fishing lines. Others get caught in “ghost nets”—nets that break off from fishing boats and drift through the ocean, trapping air-breathing mammals like dolphins, turtles, and manatees under water. But the worst manatee killer is the speedboat: It’s a sad fact that researchers use scar patterns from propeller wounds to identify individual manatees.

  BEACH TRAFFIC JAM

  What do you do when half a million turtles want to lay their eggs at the same time? Get out of the way!

  Sea turtles spend most of their lives at sea, tra
veling thousands of miles as they feed and mate. But every year, the females of all seven sea turtle species—the leatherback, hawksbill, green, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, and flatback—go back to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. In Costa Rica this event is called the arribada—Spanish for “arrival”—and it’s one of the great wonders of nature. During the first or last quarter moon, as many as 5,000 Ridley’s turtles swim out of the sea every hour onto a strip of sand less than a mile long. Over the next few nights, 400,000 turtles join them to bury close to 40 million eggs. Why does the arribada only happen during a quarter moon? Because that’s when the tides, which are controlled by the moon’s gravity, are weakest. And that means that the waves will wash away the fewest newly buried eggs. How the turtles figured that out is a mystery.

  WEIRD SEAFOOD

  Uncle John loves seafood—but here are some fish recipes from around the world that might make him want to stick to cheeseburgers.

  HÁKARL. If you’re ever in Iceland and someone offers you a plate of hákarl—run! That’s the Icelandic word for “rotten shark,” and that’s what this dish is. Greenlandic shark is poisonous when fresh because the meat has lots of uric acid (one of the same acids found in pee). So the clever people of Iceland found a way to make the shark edible. They cut it into big chunks and bury them in a gravel pit for a few months, and when it smells like ammonia instead of pee, they dig it up. Then they hang it up in a shed and let the wind dry it out. When the fish is firm (2–4 months later) it’s ready to eat.