Hello and welcome to Mysteries of Science. My name's Stevie, I'm the deputy editor of Science

and Nature, the monthly magazine from the team behind the Week Junior.

And I'm Michael, the Junior Editor. On this podcast, we take a look at our favorite mysteries

of science. These are the strange phenomena and bizarre events that have left scientists

scratching their heads and, despite their best efforts, remain well and truly unsolved.

So, Stevie, tell us what are we looking at today?

Well, Michael, what's got lots of tentacles, and according to legend, snacks on gigantic sailing ships.

Nope, it's not a trick question, and it's no joke either.

The answer is one of the most mythical sea creatures of all, an animal so enormous that it's rumoured to have sunk ocean vessels and terrorised sailors for centuries.

It's known as the Cracken.

Now, I've heard the stories, and it does sound terrifying, but just where and when did these legends start?

Why has the myth endured for so long?

And could the Cracken actually exist?

I think it's time we hopped onto a ship with some experts and went on a journey into the deep, dark depths of the ocean to try and catch a monster.

This is Mysteries of Science.

So, Stevie, we know the Cracken is this large sea monster, but when did the story start?

So, tales of sea monsters have existed in folklore for centuries.

The first modern description of the Cracken appeared in a travel diary by adventurer

Francesco Negri in late 1600s, who used the words Crackay to describe a creature with arms

and legs that looked like an uprooted tree.

A couple of centuries later, the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, wrote a sonnet,

which is a little bit like a love poem called The Cracken.

...