Speaking of plastic ... (and giant squid)

[eppur_se_muova]

The carcass of a giant squid hangs in the Natural History Museum in Paris. The body has been "plastinated", a process that removes all the natural fluids and replaces them with a resin. The Architeutis squid was caught near New Zealand in 2000; specimens can grow up to 13m (43ft) long.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/sci_nat_enl_1206530134/html/1.stm


Paris' latest star is no damp squid (Physorg.com)
France's National Museum of Natural History on Tuesday unveiled the world's first "plastinated" squid -- a 6.5-metre-long (21.25-feet) deep-sea beast donated by New Zealand and named in honour of a creature featuring in Maori legend.

Plastination entails replacing the animal's water, fat and other liquids with a polymer that hardens.

It means the specimen can be appreciated in three dimensions in a dry, solid state, rather than in a jar filled with formalin or alcohol, whose glass distorts the view.

The squid was hauled up in January 2000 at a depth of ***
The 65,000-euro (100,000-dollar) plastination, carried out by Italian lab VisDocta Research, took two and a half years, during which the specimen of Architeuthis sanctipauli lost 2.5 metres (seven feet) of its length through drying out.
***
more: http://www.physorg.com/news125677106.html