HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NESSIE!

Today marks the 84th anniversary of the publication of one of the most infamous and iconic 'paranormal' photos of all time.

Known simply as the 'surgeon's photograph,' the legendary image purportedly shows the long neck of the Loch Ness Monster emerging from the waters of its home in Scotland.

Appearing as the headline story in the British newspaper the Daily Mail on April 21st, 1934, the image became something of a sensation, quickly spreading all over the world as proof that a 'monster' of some kind lurked in Loch Ness.

The origin of the somewhat odd name for the photo comes from the fact that it was submitted to the newspaper by a doctor who did not want his name associated with the jaw-dropping image, although his identity was later revealed as you'll soon learn.

Akin to the Patterson-Gimlin film of Bigfoot lore, the tantalizing photo catapulted the Loch Ness Monster into the public zeitgeist and became the subject of feverish analysis and considerable debate for decades.

And, after all those years, it seems that the parties behind the now-famous photo finally decided that they wanted credit for their historic work as, in the 1990's, it was revealed that the image had been an elaborate hoax.

The story behind the faking of the photo is nearly as fantastic as the image itself, involving a disgruntled big game hunter who had been tasked to find Nessie, but fell short and was mocked by the Daily Mail.

In turn, he enlisted a sculptor to create a model of the creature's upper torso, affixed it to a toy submarine, and photographed the faux-creature in Loch Ness at just the right angle to make it appear monstrous.

However, despite being thoroughly debunked, it would appear that the impact of the 'surgeon's photo' was hardly diminished as it remains the proverbial 'go to' image whenever one imagines Nessie or is looking for a visual representation of the creature in the media.

[SOURCE: Coast 2 Coast AM.]