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Reminds me of the ice worms[0] that live exclusively in the glacier ice of the Pacific Northwest. Also mild nightmare fuel. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M
by jandrewrogers 1y ago
Reminds me of the ice worms[0] that live exclusively in the glacier ice of the Pacific Northwest. Also mild nightmare fuel.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesenchytraeus_solifugus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesenchytraeus_solifugus
- gus_massa 1y agoThey look like earthworm that like to live near ice and eat algae. What is the nightmare fuel?
- mumbisChungo 1y agoclear scoleciphobia if I've ever seen it
- nkrisc 1y agoWell, yeah, they're worms. People are irrationally afraid of all sorts of stuff, that doesn't make everything "nightmare fuel". They're just worms that look like worms.
- omnicognate 1y ago> worms that look like worms Those are the worst kind of worms.
- jandrewrogers 1y agoSome people don't like the idea of worms and actively avoid them. I'm not one of them but I know several people that are. The idea of chilling on a pristine glacier somewhere and suddenly finding yourself surrounded by thousands of worms is pretty unsettling to the worm avoidant. Naturally I introduce these people to the existence of the Giant Palouse Earthworm [0], also in the Pacific Northwest, though these are so rare that it would be of scientific interest if you came across one. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Palouse_earthworm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Palouse_earthworm
- gus_massa 1y agoI don't mind if someone is afraid of worms, but I really expected a flesh eating monster tha lay eggs inside you and then eclosionarte like in the alien movie and go to the nearest glaciar or ice rink and sleep for centuries until someone comes nearby ... Anyway, if someone hates worms (and doesn't care if they are annelids or nematodes) I suggest to donate to the Guinea Worm eradication campaign. They are pretty close https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_dracunculiasis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_dracunculiasis
- gilleain 1y agoInterestingly, not only are those worms _able_ to survive low temperatures, they also _require_ low temperatures: > They freeze at around −6.8 °C (19.8 °F), and their bodies decompose after continuous exposure to temperatures above 5 °C (41 °F). Goes to show (perhaps) that adapting to unusual environments is not so much like a superpower but a tradeoff.
- breakbread 1y agoReminds me of a short story by Alastair Reynolds, "Glacial". In it, scientists are studying these worm-like alien creatures that seem to interact with one another via chemical markers left on the tunnel walls. It is theorized that they're acting as a sort of distributed intelligence, although it's really slow due to the extremely low metabolism.
- MisterTea 1y agoImmediately conjures this X Files episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_(The_X-Files) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_(The_X-Files)