Underbelly of nature gathers in sewer
Warning: This story contains a video with potentially nauseating images.
RALEIGH, NC - That grossly gross but viral YouTube video of some extraterrestrial-like throbbing ooze reveals only a colony of unusual worms in a sewer, say experts.
There's some disagreement about what kind of worms they are, but they pose no danger to the public, experts say.
The video, however, recently named top viral Internet video by TVWeek.com and initially put out as some sort of all-anal creature, could cause some severe stomach churning.
After watching the video Raleigh Public Utilities Department environmental coordinator Ed Buchan said the messy mass is a colony of tubifex worms which can form clusters of up to one inch in diameter.
Not so, says Thomas Kwak.
Kwak, with a name that could really undermine his credibility, is a biology professor at North Carolina State University's Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
He says the clustering creatures are byrozoan, invertebrates found in both fresh and salt water.
Whatever they are, they sure look nasty.
Don't hurl into the keyboard.
Warning: The video below contains potentially nauseating images.
Perkins is the National
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Why, thank you, Ms. Culpepper. You are a darlin' to say so.
I'm a real estate/consumer reporter by trade.
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Some of this stuff is just unbelievably OFFbeat!
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Hey Mr. Perkins,
New fan here. Thanks for the articles, I can see your dedication to the odd is borderline anal.
This was my biggest story to date.
It's just amazing what people want to read.
I new at the offbeat beat, but I'm learning.
I'm also the Consumer News Examiner and Real Estate News Examiner and guess which one is the hottest?
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Here's something from the Dept of Ecology State of Washington site.
Bryozoans are colonial animals with a life-style something like that of coral polyps, except that bryozoans are found in freshwater, and they make a gelatinous matrix to live in, rather than a hard calcareous one. They are often attached to sticks, bouy ropes, and other thin underwater structures. They don't usually cause any problems, and are indicative of moderate to good water quality.
...moderate to good water quality...I don't think I would have guessed that.
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