Earthworm Dave breaks records, is euthanized 'for science'
LONDON -- At 40cm (15.7in) long and weighing approximately 26g, an earthworm named Dave has entered UK record books as the largest ever found in Britain.
The record previously belonged to a Scottish worm discovered in 2015 on the island of Rum that grew to 39.6cm (15.6 inches) and only 15g. WEAK.
The experts at the Natural History Museum bestowed the honour on the worm, and then do you know what they did to celebrate his accomplishment?
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They killed Dave.
The Lumbricus terrestris was found in a vegetable plot in Widnes, Cheshire by Paul Rees, whose stepson George dubbed the worm Dave.
The abnormally large annelid was sent to the Natural History Museum, where it was subsequently euthanized and placed inside a jar where it will be "around for ever more."
Natural History Museum scientist Emma Sherlock said in a press release, "Dave is now preserved in the museum collections, and will now be useful to science."
"Not only was it really long, it is almost twice as heavy as any other wild earthworm ever seen, weighing the same as a small chocolate bar."
"Although his name on the jar is Lumbricus terrestris little George did request that his real name, Dave, be preserved forever, too. So on the label it clearly states 'known as Dave' and that will be reflected in the museum database forever."
Humph. I wonder what Dave thinks about all this OH WAIT HE'S DEAD.
And also probably didn't have the capacity to form complex thoughts, to be fair.
