Indus worm Indus worm The skōlex (Indus Worm or the horrible Indian worm), in ancient Greek writings, was a supposed giant, white, carnivorous worm with a large pair of teeth that lived in the Indus River. Gustav Oppert in the 19th century reasoned that "skōlex" referred to a like-sounding word in the Indian language, and was convinced the word was "culukī" () for "fish" or "porpoise". In his opinion, the word could refer even to a "crocodile" by extension. Scholar Erik Seldeslachts, in a 1998 paper, has suggested parallel with "kṛmiḥ" () which has the duel meaning of "worm" and a name
Woolly Worm Festival Woolly Worm Festival The Woolly Worm Festival is an event held each October since 1973 in Banner Elk and Beech Mountain, North Carolina. The festival celebrates the supposed weather-predicting abilities of the woolly worm, also called "woolly bear" which is a caterpillar or larvae of the Isabella tiger moth. Events include a caterpillar race. The Isabella Tiger Moth belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae which has 11,000 species around the world. Prior to settling in for winter, the woolly worm eats a variety of plants and then produces a kind of antifreeze which protects the creature from temperatures as low as