Seventy-six years ago today, on November 12th 1933, Hugh Gray was walking back from chuch along the shores of Loch Ness when he saw an "object of considerable dimensions—making a big splash with spray on the surface."

"I immediately got my camera ready and snapped the object which was then two to three feet above the surface of the water. I did not see any head, for what I took to be the front parts were under the water, but there was considerable movement from what seemed to be the tail."

The result, seen below, was the very first photograph of the legendary Loch Ness monster.

"I cannot give any definate opinion of size, except that it was very great - it was a dark greyish color; the skin was glistening and appeared smooth."

The early 1930s saw a new road built along the side of Loch Ness, and as the legend spread sightings of the beastie sky-rocketed. In 1934, the most famous photograph of all was taken by Robert Wilson. Sadly this was a hoax; a toy submarine outfitted with a fake serpent's head.

The legend has persisted to this day, with the 22 square mile lake believed by many - including tourists and canny locals with good business acument - to harbour some relic of the dinosaur age.

But in 2003, a BBC team put paid to the idea completely. They used GPS and several hundred sonar beams to scan every cubic foot of the Loch, and found nothing.

"We went from shoreline to shoreline, top to bottom on this one, we have covered everything in this loch and we saw no signs of any large living animal in the loch."

The BBC project went further, and revealed a fascinating insight into the psychology of our relationship with the Loch Ness Monster.

The BBC team says the only explanation for the persistence of the myth of the monster is that people see what they want to see.

To prove this, the researchers hid a fence post beneath the surface of the loch and raised it in front of a coach party of tourists.

Interviewed afterwards, most said they had observed a square object but several drew monster-shaped heads when asked to sketch what they had seen.

We want to believe, we really do. As a scientist and a skeptic I'm driven by the need for answers, but sometimes I find myself looking back to the Victorian age and mourning the mysteries that have been solved. In the modern world of lasers and sonar and GPS, there are few corners left for creatures like Nessie to exist. Mythological creatures are following their real-life cousins and becoming extinct, and when we lose them I think the world will be a slightly sadder place.

I wonder, if we ever leave leave this Earth and explore and colonize other planets, will our descendants create their own, new monsters? I'd like to think so.

To paraphrase Ariane Sherine, there's probably no Loch Ness Monster, but there is one aspect of the legend that is real, and is truly remarkable. Conservapedia have an entry for the Loch Ness Monster, which is reasonably well-written and doesn't mention gays, Muslims or atheists once.

Would you believe it?