During the 300 years spanning the 16th to the 19th century – the heyday of discovering new worlds and brutally colonising them – popular belief had it that the ocean harboured enormous sea monsters. From dragon-like sea creatures to colossal squids, like the mythical Kraken.
The Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is the largest know squid species, and probably the scariest
Well, for all I know the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni could be a cousin of the mythical Kraken. This colossal squid is the largest known squid species and it can reach a length of 12 to 14 meters. The species was discovered in 1925, when they found two tentacles inside the stomach of a sperm whale. Sperm whales have been observed to dive to depths of over 2,000 meters to hunt colossal squid.
First it will strangle you to death with its hooked tentacles, before ripping you into pieces
But the answer to the most important question remains, what would happen if this giant sea monster decided to eat you? Well, you can be sure that it would probably a painful experience. Because the brains of this creature are wrapped around its throat like a donut, the size of what it can eat at any one time is pretty constrained. But that's no matter! First, it rips you down into little pieces with his razor-sharp beak before getting down to the business of eating you whole. Thankfully at this point, you’re probably too dead to witness the full horror of your fate. Did we mention this giant squid has tentacles with hooks instead of suckers?
All of that being said, though, there's not actually been any (reliable) reports of a giant squid eating humans. But be honest. If you were a colossal squid straight from the dread pages of myth – wouldn't you?