BY CHRISTINA HONAN

Many people like to believe in the myth and the legend that is Nessie, Scotland's Loch

Ness monster, but NBC's "Today" reports there is new evidence on the so-called giant

serpent.

"Well, nonsense, says one Italian geologist who insists that signs aren't the work of

an elusive beast, but rather seismic activity. The Great Glen fault system runs right through

that area."

Scientific American has more on an interview geologist Luigi Piccardi gave to an Italian

paper explaining his theory. According to him, the effects on the surface of the water

like mysterious bubbles or shaking can be attributed to the activity of the fault that

runs below the lake.

"We know that [1920-1930] was a period ... characterized by many reported sightings of Nessie. ... With

increased activity of the fault, in reality people have seen the effects of the earthquakes

on the water."

So the Loch Ness Monster could literally be Scotland's fault. But on the heels of new

evidence, LiveScience has more on how this whole legend started in the first place with

some reports dating back quite a long time.

"The Loch Ness monster was first reported in A.D. 565, when — according to Catholic

legend — St. Columba turned away a giant beast that was threatening a man in the Ness

River, which flows into the lake."

And thus, Nessie was "banished" to roam Loch Ness — causing the earth to shake whenever

she was supposedly spotted. As for that famous photo of Nessie? National Geographic says

it was a London surgeon who originally took credit for the image that was printed and

reprinted, fueling the rumors, but there's an explanation for that, too.

"Nearly 60 years later, a man named Christian Spurling made a stunning revelation. The photo

was the brainchild of his stepfather. Wetherell took a toy submarine, fashioned a head and

neck and launched the monster in the shallows of Loch Ness."

He then asked the surgeon to take credit for it when it was printed in the Daily Mail.

Still, in the face of all the myth busting, the "Today" anchors just didn't want to believe

it:

"I want to believe in the Loch Ness Monster." "We love Nessie."

"We love Nessie!"