By Tim Binnall
A fascinating new exhibit at a zoo in Paris showcases a mysterious and bizarre creature dubbed the 'Blob.' The strange slime mold, which will reportedly be unveiled to the public for the first time this coming Saturday at the Paris Zoological Park, boasts an array of odd and rather wondrous characteristics that have left scientists scratching their heads. "The blob is really one of the most extraordinary things on Earth today," marveled museum director Bruno David, "it's been here for millions of years and we still really don't know what it is."
What makes the blob remarkable is that it lacks eyes, a mouth, a stomach, a brain, and a nervous system, yet it can accomplish a number of things which should seemingly be impossible. For example, the creature was stunningly able to navigate its way through a maze in order to find food, which it subsequently somehow consumed. Noting that the weird slime is apparently capable of memory, adapting its behavior, and solving problems, David observed that it seems to behave "like a little animal."
To that end, however, David noted that "we don't really know if it's an animal, if it's a fungus, if it's in between." The creature is made all the more confounding by the fact that it also boasts incredible healing powers and, if merged with another of its kind, can inexplicably share information with its counterpart. And, amazingly, in one experiment, scientists cut the creature into multiple pieces and it managed to reconstruct itself in a manner akin to what one might expect from a science fiction film.
Named after the 1958 Steve McQueen film The Blob, this particular form of the perplexing organism has been known to scientists for nearly 50 years, yet continues to astound researchers by what it is capable of doing and how it appears to defy classification. Ultimately, David mused that "the blob is a living being which belongs to one of nature's mysteries." And, adding one more achievement to the list, the creature is likely to become a star attraction at the zoo, despite resembling nothing more than a small puddle of goo.