I have no idea what this is. I was sent the photo by a reader who discovered it in a jungle of ferns on Hawaii. It looks vaguely familiar, but perhaps someone here can identify it.
I have a feeling this feature might turn into something like a county fair on Discworld, where people bring in odd-shaped turnips that have curiously titillating shapes when looked at just so.
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Deepak Chopra perhaps?
"...a turnip shaped exactly like a thingie".
There is nothing to see. It is simply a woody growth. You are all experiencing the pareidolia effect.
Jumpin' Jeezus on a stick!
That's a bit unkind, traustifreyr, but fair comment.
I am shocked that you have the gall to show that. (rimshot)
Sure, PZ.
It was a "reader" who "discovered" this in "Hawaii".
Really, it's nothing to be embarrassed about.
I'd get that lump checked out though.
Besides, shouldn't that be in the newspaper office in Ankh-Morpork
Whatever it is, it seems happy to see you.
Hmmm. I think I've seen something like this somewhere else...
Well it looks like a small set of male genitals to me PZ. Anyone else?
Anyone?
No?
Just me then. Ok.
Louis
Is that why it's called a woody? :^)
It looks suspiciously like the root node of a fern... What do you call a grouping of individual fern frons, a colony? Anyhow, these things have a habit of invading my landlady's garden, and I've dug more than a few of these out of the ground!
Roy
Ouch.
See kids? This is what happens if you don't get your mumps shot.
Nah... that's clearly the result of the tickler being used at the bottom of the image...
It's NIXON! Spitting image!
Whatever it is, it's got one hell of a hydrocele problem.
Is this the time to make Vatican themed jokes?
looks a bit like this to me...
Dunno, dutchdoc. It's a little tricky.
Remove it at once, else the pope will be offended if he visits Hawaii
If that looks vaguely familiar then I suggest you see a doctor.
hmm...im seeing a happy elephant in the "beg" position normally demonstrated by dogs
Deepak's quantum dong.
An excellent example of pareidolia; every time someone sees a face on Mars or St. Peter on their Pop-Tarts or whatever, you have an excuse to link to this.
(If you take the trouble to really examine it, it's not nearly the shape of a healthy… set. The shaft is completely disconnected from the testicles, which are all weird and lumpy. And the head is just stuck on the side of an otherwise up-pointing shaft. Yeah, all right, it's also completely the wrong color, texture, etc…)
Looks like a sporing body of some sort.
This is undeniable evidence of intelligent design. Could your so-called "evolutions" create something as miraculous as treedick?
Joseph Merrick with his pants down?
Aloha...
That's no mystery... that is Hapu'u fern.
That is how the fern starts out... a very soft fuzzy covering and it is all curled up inside. It slowly unravels and a fern comes out.
There are a number of variety of Hapu'u ranging in size from very tiny (basket ball sized) to utterly huge (30 feet tall).
I have a raised Hapu'u garden in my back yard that grows anthuriums below the ferns, very nice.
Also... that fuzzy stuff, they used to use it to make pillows back in the early days.
Here is a link to my site with more information on it:
http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Plants.hapuu
aloha!
This is nothing new. I see these types of growth all the time on the ASU campus. Even the trees want to get some here!!
Well, for once, it doesn't look like a vagina.
Nobody else sees a clenched-tentacle salute? For shame...
To me it looks like a monkey on his knees praying to the Christian god, turned into wood by the vengeance of the One True Monkey God who Is A Jealous God.
Pascal's Wager Fail.
It's an ent, pining for an entwife.
The picture is the wrong way round and it's a clump of fern fronds about to unwrap themselves. By coincidence, I was just looking at another picture of a clump of unfurling fern fronds earlier today - except that that one looked like a very angry blobby creature futilely waving two fists in the air (at an uncaring imaginary god?).
Speaking of monkey gods,
htt://www.cnn.com
Quick vote
Do you attend church regularly?
No 68% 173714
Yes 32% 79898
You guys already been there? :)
"Oh Baby its so BIGGGG!!!!
"oh, oh!!"
You didn't know that trees can reproduce sexually?
You've never seen an ent's nether bits?
This must be a proof of something.
It's a still from one of those specialist Japanese porno flicks.
It's a va-guy-na.
JimL @ 28: Your observation provides proof that Elephantiasis isn't all bad.
Hey! It's pareidolia at work. Although it would make a nice gift for uncle ratzi.
If you turn your head 90 degrees to the right, it looks like a winged monster paddling around on water like a swan.
@Roy, #13:
Was that an intentional double-entendre?
It's not the pariedolic effect, it is a squirrel sitting upright on its haunches. The squirrel's bushy tail is overlapped by a fern in the lower left. It has both arms/paws firmly clasped on a ray gun which it is pointing upper right at 2:00- aimed at an off screen and so invisible god.
It's just a knob on a tree.
I recognised it immediately at first glance. The fern leaf was placed there by a visiting New Zealander in reference to the symbol of the New Zealand "All Blacks" football rugby team.
Am I missing something?
When I first looked at it yesterday, I thought it looked like a gorilla trying to climb a tree.
It's a coat hook. What else could it be?
And where are the Grilled Cheese Marians? Based on this, one would expect priests coming "out" in droves!
Whoa,
Last time I saw one of those was in confessional!
It's a rocket ship!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMefyDa7Yg
;)
There is, in fact, a whole website dedicated to objects of this nature.
The Internet - sniggering like an eleven year old schoolboy since 1985.
Jesus Christ, I think it has every STI known to man.
Hi All, just thought I would let you guys know Bananaman cumfarts bastardized origin of species has now been found in nz, five copies were given to an opshop here in welly this morning, of which I got one, damn the introduction is cringeworthy.
I wonder if this is a closed relative of one of these despite morphological differences
http://www.flickr.com/photos/farhat/940486974/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/farhat/940499780/
I have been deeply offended by this.
Seriously. The pain is just awful.
I believe it is the Polyporaceae holmesii, also known as the "woodhorn", or "old maid's dream" mushroom. It is reportedly delicious when sauteed in butter and served over rice.
A three toed sloth that was so pathetically slow it couldn't outrun the growth of tree bark.
A babies arm holding an apple?