BBC Proves Nessie Doesn't Exist or Walking With Nessie

[Richard W Travsky <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

Ok folks. Show's over. Nothing to see here. Move along. Nessie has left
the building...

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3096839.stm

 A BBC team says it has shown there is no such thing as the Loch Ness
 monster.

 Using 600 separate sonar beams and satellite navigation technology to
 ensure that none of the loch was missed, the team surveyed the waters
 said to hide Scotland's legendary tourist attraction but found no trace
 of the monster. 
 ...
 The researchers looked at the habits of modern marine reptiles, such as
 crocodiles and leatherback turtles, to try to work out how a plesiosaur
 might have behaved.

 They hoped the instruments aboard their search boat would pick up the air
 in Nessie's lungs as it reflected a distorted signal back to the sonar
 sensors. 
 ...
 "We went from shoreline to shoreline, top to bottom on this one, we have
 covered everything in this loch and we saw no signs of any large living
 animal in the loch," said Ian Florence, one of the specialists who
 carried out the survey for the BBC.

 His colleague Hugh MacKay added: "We got some good clear data of the
 loch, steep sided, flat bottomed - nothing unusual I'm afraid." 
 ...
 The BBC team says the only explanation for the persistence of the myth of
 the monster is that people see what they want to see.
 
 To prove this, the researchers hid a fence post beneath the surface of
 the loch and raised it in front of a coach party of tourists.

 Interviewed afterwards, most said they had observed a square object but
 several drew monster-shaped heads when asked to sketch what they had
 seen.

 The television programme detailing the investigation, Searching For The
 Loch Ness Monster, was made for BBC One. 

(at least they didn't call it Walking With Nessie)