Google has joined the search for sighting the Loch Ness Monster with
images from its Street View cameras taken above and below the surface of the water available for monster hunters to examine.
Divers and local experts assisted the company in collecting the images from the Scottish lake, in observation of the anniversary of the famous "Surgeon's Photograph" published on April 21, 1934. The widely recognized photo was proven to be fake, and Christian Spurling confessed that the grainy image was of a phony monster neck he built and attached to a toy submarine.
Tuesday’s Google Doodle plays on that hoax, depicting a Loch Ness Monster submarine pedaled by alien-looking creatures.
But the monster continues to intrigue people, with 200,000
Google searches for the Loch Ness Monster conducted each month, The Telegraph said.
Tuesday’s Google Doodle invites users to explore the lake with underwater Street View.
One image showing a nondescript object at the water’s surface drew attention.
"We were surprised by this sighting too," a Google spokesperson told The Telegraph. "Is it a log, a bird or ... the monster?!"
Google doesn’t claim to have discovered the elusive creature, but the company enlisted Adrian Shine, a man who has examined more than 1,000 monster sightings, to look at their images.
"He helped us go through the imagery," Deanna Yick, who is a program manager for the
Google Street View team, said, according to The Atlantic. "There are some very interesting images where the way the light hits the waves on the water, you're not really sure."
She said the murky waters add to the experience.
Twitter users seemed amused by Google’s effort.
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