CLA, we must again agree to disagree - the massive tentacles are totally what makes him science fictional. The futuristic uses of "plastination" is just the icing on the crazy cake.

I don't mean to bring down the awesomeness of everything about this with my prurience, but I remember being asked once whether it was awkward having "something dangling down" off of my body like that. Only knowing what I have, I couldn't really "get" the premise. But after seeing those tentacles...it seems so incredibly awkward to have something floating off of you that was 4-5 times the length of your entire body. It would be like dragging around some kind of crazy royal wedding train all the time. Or having arms that could barely fit in my little Manhattan apartment.

Awesome.

"Plastinated"

Ok that actually sounds familiar to something I've heard in some SciFi movie of the past.

Ahhh I remember now.. "Intestinated"...

Ok so who will be the 1st to remember what movie thats from... lol

Now that eye is worth a googol!

I, for one, welcome our new plastinated overlords

"The next step: to create a living plastic"

Plastic Man!?

[www.bodyworlds.com]
Plastination's been done.

I looked up "Wheke" and only found references to a Maori legendary monster. I'm a big fan of the cephalopods. What's the story with this specimen, how large is it and where in Paris? Links pretty please?

Seriously, is that really what its eye and shit look like? Because it looks kinda fake to me.

@moff: I think the eye might be artificial but it does look a lot like it should, maybe a tad duller than real life. Still, it's much cooler looking than the old model hanging in the Museum of Natural History in NYC.

Found the (a) link: [www.physorg.com]
It's 6.5-meters long (21.25-feet)! Do you have any idea how much tartar sauce that would require? Truly we live on an amazing planet.

Is that even a true giant squid? That looks like an oversized Humboldt squid to me. If it is a giant squid it's a small one, scary as that may sound.

IIRC, their eyes collapse when taken to the surface because they are so delicate, so yes, most likely fake eyes.

He's the first creature to be plastinated? Don't tell that to the horse in BodyWorlds.

He's not the first creature to be plastinated -- the creator of the process has a travelling exhibition called "bodyworlds". It features lots of humans and some animals.

Picture Gallery:
"http://www.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/0,8543,-10204376686,00.html"
Site:
[www.bodyworlds.com]

I saw it at the boston museum of science.

But weren't the first creatures "plastinated" those humans in the Body Project?

@SeeingI: It's a Giant Squid. It's just not a Colossal Squid. And they DO seem fakey when you look at them, particularly the eyes. Tonmo has a gallery and slideshow that will freak you out specifically BECAUSE they seem so fake.

First creature ever to be Plastinated?
I think that you ought to look up some protocols for Transmission Electron Microscopy - which has been around since the 1960's - where organisms are literally fixed (preserved) using formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, potassium permanganate or osmium tetroxide, dehydrated using ethanol, acetone, or propylene oxide, and then embedded in some sort of acrylic or epoxy resin which is then polymerized into plastic before being sectioned.

I would imagine that the plastination you have described undergoes some similar process, perhaps involving different chemicals - but same concept. :)

Didn't anyone see the "Bodies" exhibit that was traveling around to science museums? They were all "plastinated." They've been doing it since the 70's, so that squid is definitely not the first creature to undergo the process.

Anyway, it's an amazingly fascinating exhibit, but not for everyone, as the bodies are partially or wholly dissected to accentuate one anatomical feature or another. My favorite part was a dog and a human heart that had only their blood vessels plastinated, and the rest of the flesh removed. It was amazing to watch the arteries and veins turn into capillaries and feather away to nothing, like a dog-shaped fractal.

@raincoaster: the vampyroteuthis squid is far more beautiful~

But let me ask you this, Hollywood: what if I were to offer you a depth of field of Infinity on every one of my film projects?

Portland has an Octopus. Wait... that was a real squid? OK... we have a fake octopus.

Living plastic?
Did we learn *nothing* from the many Auton invasions?

*sigh*

I think the new plastination process involves retaining the skin of the subject. The horse and people in the BodyWorks display look dehydrated rather than plastic

This news solves the mistery of Eddie Murphy's eternal youth and his total loss of acting capabilities..

@Dunny0: Thank you!

Please, give generously.

It really looks like something that would thrive in the vacuum of space - can't we try to get them to inhabit the vacuum of space?

Are there any other words besides vacuum that have a double u (no W jokes people!)?

I SCUBA dive. Sharks don't freak me out. Poisonous Conch's don't freak me out. Jelly's don't freak me out.

What freaks me out is the thought of running into one of these giant "calamari's". I've held small versions of these and their strength is amazing. Something that size (above) would crush all your bones before you had a chance to drop your regulator and asphyxiate.

I'm pretty sure that he is here on behalf of the King Squid, you'll be seeing mushrooms in proliferation any day now you Kiwi squid haters.

@FrankenPC: Do yourself a favor, Avoid "20,000 leagues under the sea."

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AIR KRRAKKEN!!!!!!!!!

That poor, poor squid.