The nemesis of Captain Nemo in Jules Verne's classic "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," the giant squid has been a legendary creature for hundreds of years. Occasionally reaching 60 feet long and weighing over a ton, the giant squid is found more often in the stomachs of sperm whales than alive in the ocean. It makes for unappetizing eating, but as a raw material it can be refined for everything from soap and paint to chemicals and liquid crystal.