You may have seen the story the other day about the sighting of a Jersey Devil – a mysterious, legendary winged creature.
The Jersey Devil is what is known as a cryptid, a creature not documented by science.
Cryptozoology has given us Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman, and the Loch Ness Monster, among other animals.
These creatures reside beyond the borderlands of science. They’re awesome! But they are inherently pseudo-scientific — because if they weren’t, and were actually documented and studied by scientists, and actually existed, they’d cease to be as compelling. They’d merely be interesting animals, like penguins and electric eels.
Cryptozoological narratives are dependably untrue. That's not to say that there's zero chance that one might pan out.
There were rumours of giant squid in the ocean for a long time before scientists actually documented one. But there are certain stories that fall reliably into the category of bunk.
You might want to pin to your bulletin board a list of Amazing Science Stories That Are Dependably Untrue.
I'll suggest a tentative list to get us started, but don't hesitate to add to it (or subtract if so moved) in the comments section:
© Washington Post
