| ▲ | jandrewrogers 4 days ago |
| Reminds me of the ice worms[0] that live exclusively in the glacier ice of the Pacific Northwest. Also mild nightmare fuel. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesenchytraeus_solifugus |
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| ▲ | gilleain 3 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| Interestingly, not only are those worms _able_ to survive low temperatures, they also _require_ low temperatures: > They freeze at around −6.8 °C (19.8 °F), and their bodies decompose after continuous exposure to temperatures above 5 °C (41 °F). Goes to show (perhaps) that adapting to unusual environments is not so much like a superpower but a tradeoff. |
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| ▲ | breakbread 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Reminds me of a short story by Alastair Reynolds, "Glacial". In it, scientists are studying these worm-like alien creatures that seem to interact with one another via chemical markers left on the tunnel walls. It is theorized that they're acting as a sort of distributed intelligence, although it's really slow due to the extremely low metabolism. |
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| ▲ | gus_massa 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| They look like earthworm that like to live near ice and eat algae. What is the nightmare fuel? |
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| ▲ | jandrewrogers 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Some people don't like the idea of worms and actively avoid them. I'm not one of them but I know several people that are. The idea of chilling on a pristine glacier somewhere and suddenly finding yourself surrounded by thousands of worms is pretty unsettling to the worm avoidant. Naturally I introduce these people to the existence of the Giant Palouse Earthworm [0], also in the Pacific Northwest, though these are so rare that it would be of scientific interest if you came across one. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Palouse_earthworm | | |
| ▲ | gus_massa 3 days ago | parent [-] | | I don't mind if someone is afraid of worms, but I really expected a flesh eating monster tha lay eggs inside you and then eclosionarte like in the alien movie and go to the nearest glaciar or ice rink and sleep for centuries until someone comes nearby ... Anyway, if someone hates worms (and doesn't care if they are annelids or nematodes) I suggest to donate to the Guinea Worm eradication campaign. They are pretty close https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_dracunculiasis |
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| ▲ | mumbisChungo 4 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | clear scoleciphobia if I've ever seen it | | |
| ▲ | nkrisc 4 days ago | parent [-] | | Well, yeah, they're worms. People are irrationally afraid of all sorts of stuff, that doesn't make everything "nightmare fuel". They're just worms that look like worms. | | |
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| ▲ | MisterTea 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Immediately conjures this X Files episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_(The_X-Files) |
