Scientists are on the hunt in Moscow, Idaho for an elusive earthworm, that is said to be 3 feet long and smells like 
flowers.
Sounds pretty bizarre right? Perhaps made up?
I thought so too…but it gets better. This thing lives 15 feet below ground, spits at its predators and secretes a lily like smell when its handled.
Still don’t believe me? Check out the full story below…
MOSCOW, Idaho — The giant Palouse earthworm has taken on mythic qualities in this vast agricultural region that stretches from eastern Washington into the Idaho panhandle.
The worm, which early observers said grew to 3 feet, is said to secrete a lily-like smell when handled, spit at predators and live in burrows 15 feet deep. There have been only a handful of sightings.
But scientists hope to change that this summer with researchers scouring the Palouse region for the earthworms. Conservationists also want the Obama administration to protect the worm as an endangered species, even though little research has been done on it.
The worm may be elusive, but it exists, said Jodi Johnson-Maynard, a University of Idaho professor leading the search. She showed the preserved remains of a fat, milky-white worm. One of Johnson-Maynard’s students found this specimen in 2005, and it is the only confirmed example of the species.
The best part is how they are attempting to lure this beast out of its burrows…the methods include digging and sifting, pouring mustard and vinegar into the ground…and even electric shock.
Johnson-Maynard and her team have three search methods. One is just digging a hole and sifting the soil.
The second involves chemical warfare, pouring a solution of vinegar and mustard onto the ground to make the worms come up.
The third method is new, using electricity to shock worms to the surface. The shocker can deliver up to 480 volts, which could fry a specimen.
Wonder if the same conservationists that want Barack Obama to add this thing to the endangered species list are for the whole shock treatment or not…and please, let’s hope that doesn’t not cross his desk for approval until we find a way to fix the floundering economy…but that is a post for another day.
Now, I’ve seen that 90’s Kevin Bacon classic Tremors…let’s just hope that this worm doesn’t turn out anything like the “Graboids” that terrorized a small dessert town in the movie.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yea, that totally sounds like a legit creature. They'll find that probably after they find that darn Predator.
Maybe him and the Predator share an underground apartment…
Somebody get Sam Jackson on the phone, I smell a sequel to "Snakes On A Plane".
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