Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Was Right! There *IS* a Giant Rat of Sumatra!

[rusty_armour]

Or, rather, a giant rat of New Guinea. I'm sure some of you know about this already as the discovery was made some time ago. However, I only found out on Wednesday night when TVO broadcast the final installment of Lost Land of the Volcano. The scientists on the program discovered a new animal that looks like a giant rat. Naturally, I cried out, "It's the Giant Rat of Sumatra! It's the Giant Rat of Sumatra!" I kept expecting one of the scientists to reach the same conclusion, but none of them did for some reason. Anywaaaaaay, here is the giant rat in all its giant rat glory:

"" (Watch on YouTube)

You'll notice that the giant rat is surprisingly cute and tame -- not at all what
you would expect from the reference made in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire":

"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said Holmes in a reminiscent voice.
"It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."


Well, I think it's only fair to allow the man some artistic licence. *g*

Comments

[fengirl88.livejournal.com]

squee! I've always loved that line...

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

And I've always loved the sketch your icon is taken from! ♥

Yes, that line is definitely a classic and what pastiches are made of. :-)

[karen9.livejournal.com]

That is such a cute rat!

Maybe the world was not prepared in Sherlock's time for the cuteness of giant rats?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

You know, that's an excellent point. Maybe with the growing popularity of cats (and cute little kittens) in the Victorian Age, Sherlock thought that the world couldn't handle any more adorable animals. Or maybe it was simply something he couldn't handle himself. A glowing demonic hound? No problem. A giant rat that is cute and cuddly? Poppycock! *g*

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

That was an incredibly laid back rat. I wouldn't have blamed it for biting. Do you think they sedated it?

Maybe Holmes meant "ship" in another sense of the word?

"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said Holmes in a reminiscent voice.
"It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."


Matilda/Briggs a.k.a. Puppy (Matilda)/Giant Rat (Briggs)? The world was not really for a mixed species pairing?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

That was an incredibly laid back rat. I wouldn't have blamed it for biting. Do you think they sedated it?

I'm pretty sure it wasn't sedated. I think it was so laid back because it had never been exposed to people before. In fact, the scientists seemed to believe that a number of species on the island (that also seemed fearless) had never had any contact with humans. If such animals had never been exposed to humans, they wouldn't have been taught to fear or avoid them. I'm not sure about the giant rat, but one of the scientists theorized that at least some of the animals on the island didn't seem to be in danger from any predators. If these giant rats are also free of predators then it would make them even more likely not to exhibit any fear. Actually, I got the sense that the giant rat was more curious than anything.

Maybe Holmes meant "ship" in another sense of the word?

"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said Holmes in a reminiscent voice.
"It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."


Matilda/Briggs a.k.a. Puppy (Matilda)/Giant Rat (Briggs)? The world was not really for a mixed species pairing?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! Okay, that's the BEST Giant Rat of Sumatra theory I've ever heard! You should seriously consider writing the pastiche! :-D

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

Huh, interesting. I've heard of bears that had never encountered humans before. The ending was less happy, however, for the humans. Hey, that's a weird looking deer. Oh, well... chump.

Hee! I don't think I can do cute! Frankie Says Relax; Help Has Arrived is probably the closest I've ever come and it was still pretty violent! You! You do cute awesomely! If it'll ever exist, you'll have to do it!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Huh, interesting. I've heard of bears that had never encountered humans before. The ending was less happy, however, for the humans. Hey, that's a weird looking deer. Oh, well... chump.

Ouch. Yeah, that's a bit not good.

Hee! I don't think I can do cute! Frankie Says Relax; Help Has Arrived is probably the closest I've ever come and it was still pretty violent! You! You do cute awesomely! If it'll ever exist, you'll have to do it!

I have to confess that it's a very tempting idea. It could be a lot of fun as a Sherlock fic. Dr. Stapleton gets even more ambitious with her genetic experiments and creates the ultimate evil in her lab at Baskerville. Bwahaha! *g*

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

Doooo it! Doooo it! The world must see the ultimate evil!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Aaaaarrrgggghhh! Don't tempt me! dilestrade is holding another Rupert Graves Birthday Party (http://dilestrade.livejournal.com/98658.html) post and I've really been fighting the urge to contribute something. Now, I've just had this warped idea about the government raiding Baskerville and finding this giant rat. Mycroft, feeling guilty about releasing Moriarty, takes the giant rat to his baby brother thinking Sherlock can experiment on it as long as it doesn't leave Baker Street. Sherlock is thrilled at first and then realizes that instead of being cool and vicious, the giant rat is all cute and cuddly. He's just debating how to get rid of it when Lestrade shows up. Sherlock observes that it's Lestrade's birthday through some piece of brilliant deduction I haven't worked out yet. When Lestrade sees the giant rat and asks Sherlock what the hell it is, Sherlock tells him that it's his birthday present. And, well, the rest will have to wait because I think I might just have to write this story now. DAMMIT.

Assuming I write this, I will give you FULL credit for the idea. And blame you completely.

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

Poor Holmes all disappointed by the cuddly giant rat! However, you must have it save the day at some point by protecting Lestrade! I can just see the bad guys running screaming for the hills (AND THUS A LEGEND WAS BORN!) But... but... Briggs would not hurt a fly. Look how cutely he is curled up with Matilda! Or, you know, however you want to write it!

I will happily accept the blame! Although really that's the thing about brainstorming, there is plenty of blame to go around!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not sure how ambitious the story will be as it needs to be done some time on the 30th. I had pictured the whole thing unfolding at 221B (mostly for ease of writing), but you never know. Things could change. It's only Sunday night after all. I've still got six more days. *g*

[hemulenofdoom.livejournal.com]

That Lost Land of the Volcano was a great series. All the 'new' species were a joy to share with the experts; but I can only hope that the land stays 'lost' for most of humanity. That way the Giant Rat can remain a cuddly menace to Baker Street for years to come.

IN OTHER NEWS - rejoice with me for I have seen The Mogg! In real life. At the very next lunch table to ours. Sadly my ability to converse coherently with my own party became severely limited ..... but I can tell you that the pictures - even the YouTube ones - convey barely a tenth of the sheer glory that is The Mogg. (Almost as sweet-natured as the Giant Rat, but probably a little more more svelte).

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

That Lost Land of the Volcano was a great series. All the 'new' species were a joy to share with the experts; but I can only hope that the land stays 'lost' for most of humanity. That way the Giant Rat can remain a cuddly menace to Baker Street for years to come.

I hope this land stays lost to most of humanity as well. Scientists and researchers are one thing, but I hope no one else will have access. As for the cuddly menace of Baker Street, I'm afraid that I'm working on a fic using jackycomelately's theory about the Giant Rat of Sumatra. I'm hoping to have it done by Saturday, so that it can be included with the other Rupert Graves birthday goodies on dilestrade.

IN OTHER NEWS - rejoice with me for I have seen The Mogg! In real life. At the very next lunch table to ours. Sadly my ability to converse coherently with my own party became severely limited ..... but I can tell you that the pictures - even the YouTube ones - convey barely a tenth of the sheer glory that is The Mogg. (Almost as sweet-natured as the Giant Rat, but probably a little more more svelte).

EEEEEEEEEEEE!!! That's so exciting! :-D I'm not surprised that you had trouble conversing coherently with your own party when The Mogg was seated at the table next to yours! I'm happy that The Mogg exceeded all of your expectations and was even more glorious in real life!

[hemulenofdoom.livejournal.com]

It was really supposed to be R's birthday-treat, not mine; but I think he had quite a good time too. He looked at me and said quite seriously - "I suppose it must feel the same for you as I'd feel if Anna Friel walked in."

I didn't tell him that IMHO it was a far FAR superior experience .....