Giant Squid, What a great article on this mysterious creature.  I had the
pleasure of fishing for them off Newport Pier last June, but alas our largest
was only an infant sized 3' total length. This was very large for this area,
and attributed to "El Nino".  I still don't know whether our catch was a small
version of the giant or a giant version of the regular species.  In any case I
have a few questions for you regarding this specimen you wrote about.  If the
tenticles were 20', how big was the head, the eye, the carapace? How big was
the beak?  When you said you could tell it was supported by the ocean, was
that because the body was really gelatinous above water?  What are you
planning to do with this wonder?  Is the museum going to perserve it for
display? If so , then how?  I think I know the feeling you had when you wrote
about how man is reaching so far into the sea today.  I was called over to see
the first "Megamouth" shark landed in Hawaii and dragged over to the Waikikii
Aquarium . I was called in to try and figure out its internal support
structure by just looking at its external features because I  specialized in
fish bone structure.  It was just like a huge mass of jello, melting in the
pressureless atmosphere of our world above water.  Somehow I felt it  sorry
for it being exposed to our world in such an undignified fashion, for if we
could see these creatures  in their own habitat, I'm sure they would take our
breath away!  Well,  just wanted to share my thoughts about big mysterious
creatures from the deep.  Are there any giant shelled creatures of this
nature?  I know about the giant clam, but how deep does it live?  Are there
any others?  Deeply Curious