What do you get when you mix scientific anomalies, big ugly fish and some kooky local science writers? Fear and Loathing at the Great Lakes Aquarium.
Jim and Allen Richardson, the brothers of Gonzo Science, like muckraking journalist Hunter Thomas, look at and write about issues on the periphery of mainstream science.
Gonzo Science will present on one such subject at the Great Lakes Aquarium at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. "Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Lake Superior," will take a look at if Lake Superior has a lake monster, and if not, how is it different from other lakes that generate monster reports?
"It will be a fun presentation that is grounded in science but still looks at edgy topics," said Jim Richardson, one half of Gonzo Science.
The lake monster talk is part of the on-going speaker series at the GLA called "Voices of the Lake." The talks will be given the first Thursday of the month through the winter.
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"Lake Superior has scattered reports of sea serpents and lake monsters," said Jim Richardson, whose presentation will include photos as well as reports on these supposed creatures.
"We won't be coming down on either side -- we'll just be examining the evidence and photographs," he said.
And though there is no specific myth about a lake monster in Superior, Richardson said there are some creatures in Lake Superior that might be mistaken for a sea serpents.
"The lamprey is a down right monstrous fish," Richardson said. He'll also be looking at just how big is Superior's largest sturgeon?
After the audience has sunk its teeth into the local research, the brothers Gonzo will take a look at reports of lake creatures the world round, such as the Loch Ness monster in Scotland.
The presentation is intended to be family friendly, educational, fun and "out there," Richardson said.
The Gonzo Science brothers are local science writers who have lived all over, but call Duluth their hometown. They have published a number of columns in local publications. They also wrote a book and run a Web site http://www.gonzoscience.blogspot.com , where you can find out more about scientific anomalies like lake monsters, Big Foot and UFO's.
To learn more about the "Voices of the Lake" talks visit the GLA's Web site, www.glaquarium.org/events , or call 740-3474.
