Scary Jellyfish: Real or Not? (The Answer)

Posted Jul 1st 2006 9:06AM by Willy Volk
Filed under: Media, Flora & Fauna, Pacific, Real or Not?

Last weekend, we showed you an image of a tiny, little diver swimming up to a frighteningly massive jellyfish and asked you to decide whether it was real or not.

diver and jellyfish

Overwhelming, you cried fake. For those of you who voted this way, you're right: the photo is not real. I was thinking that recent reports of huge jellies in Asia -- specifically, Nomura's jellyfish -- would make you vote incorrectly. However -- although they grow large -- the bells of Nomura's jellies only reach 6 or 7 feet in diameter (see below).

[Thanks to Eric Brodeur, who provided the contest image, and thanks to the Museum of Hoaxes for helping to make this the most popular Real or Not? ever!]

Reader Comments

(Page 1)

1. wholey crap! just thinking that there are real creatures like the realy photo in the ocean freaks me out! they are just fasinating:)
lol

Posted at 6:27AM on Mar 10th 2008 by Jesse

2. I'd be trying not to get stung because I've heard that jellyfish stings hurt and you need to put vinigar on the sting!

Posted at 11:52PM on Mar 23rd 2008 by Ebony

3. i think its reall!!!
totally a big sting if u touch it!!

Posted at 11:51AM on Mar 31st 2008 by Lina

4. wow!!!!! where does this jellyfish live!!!!!!? please reply!!!!!

Posted at 10:10AM on Aug 9th 2008 by Ameera

5. At first I thought it was real but then I read the whole thing.
The second picture is 100% real.

P.S.
Where do these things live and what do the eat?
Please reply.

Posted at 3:35AM on Sep 16th 2008 by Kate

6. Heh, when I began to read post I supposed this photo was real and my jaw was just under table. But when I read post till end my jaw returned on it's place :). About second photo: it can be a photo trick. Jelly is closer to photographer than diver, so it looks bigger

Posted at 10:57AM on Jul 1st 2006 by Mike

7. Either way both pics freak me out. I can just imagine getting smothered by a huge, slow, slimy and silent jellyfish about 50 feet under the surface.

Posted at 5:51AM on Jul 2nd 2006 by Textbook Seller

8. Whoa thats scary

Posted at 10:38PM on May 1st 2009 by sam

9. ofc the jelly is closer than the diver. it looks like a lion's mane jelly if im not mistaken.

http://images.google.com.tr/images?hl=tr&source=hp&q=lions%20mane%20jelly&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Posted at 9:01AM on Aug 27th 2009 by arda

10. well i for one do not think it is real, mainly because if it was, wouldn't the diver himself also have photos or videos of some sort? he is holding some sort of device, and if one diver has a camera im sure he would as well, and the diver and the jellyfish just dont look like they are in the same waters for some reason, anyway thats my opinion.

Posted at 2:03PM on Mar 14th 2007 by scott johnston

11. 1 reason they look like the diver is far away is maybe cuz he is

im with the diver i'd be trying to stay as far away from that bitch asshole jellyfish from hell

Posted at 10:13PM on Jul 6th 2007 by tim

12. The second photo is real. Its been shown in many science and biology sites and i happend to see a couple of documentaries on nomura that confirm its that huge.... and creepy. Wouldn't want to fall off a boat into waters where they were hanging out by the thousands. Not the poisonous, but still....

Posted at 2:26PM on Dec 29th 2007 by Benquo

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