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1934 search for Loch Ness Monster...
1934 search for Loch Ness Monster...
Item # 722363
January 30, 1934
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Jan. 30, 1934
* Loch Ness Monster mystery
* Dr. Raymond L. Ditmars' opinion
* Beginning of the legendary hoax
The top of page 21 has a one column heading: "DITMARS SCOFFS AT 'SEA MONSTER'" with subheads. (see images)
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day. Complete in 40 pages, rag edition in very nice condition.
AI notes: In 1934, Dr. Raymond L. Ditmars briefly became part of the international conversation about the Loch Ness Monster at the height of the early-1930s Nessie mania. As newspapers ran dramatic accounts—especially after the famous “Surgeon’s Photograph” appeared in April 1934—reporters approached Ditmars for an expert zoological opinion. He dismissed any idea of a surviving plesiosaur, noting that such a reptile would require warm waters and could not thrive in a cold Highland lake, but he did not entirely rule out the possibility of an undiscovered animal. Ditmars suggested that many sightings could be attributed to large otters, seals entering from the Moray Firth, or logs and wave effects, yet he also allowed that a large, unusual eel was the most plausible scientific candidate if something unknown truly existed. His comments were widely quoted that year precisely because Ditmars was respected for his strict naturalism, and his restrained, speculative view gave the 1934 Nessie craze an air of scientific seriousness without endorsing the monster outright.
Category: The 20th Century
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