The long curved object in "The Grim Grotto"

[lupinbaudelaire]

Could it be possible that it's the IDV? I'm too lazy to check how big it was... this is probably a really far out idea, but who knows...

[Antenora]

I think it was far too big to be the Viper, or probably any of Monty's reptiles for that matter. I'm pretty sure the Question Mark was far larger than the Queequeg, or even the Carmelita.

[volunteer]

Well i can't see how it can be anything but a submarine, i mean, it has radar for christ sake, and sure you say, so does a bat.. but that is sonar remember, i dont think any seamontser will have a radar screen embedded it their head

[Dante]

Actually, the question mark was referred to as having sonar, and radars weren't mentioned. You're on the right lines, though - in animals, then sonar-like functions are known by different names (echolocation and biosonar, unless I'm mistaken).

[hugmydictator]

It was a gaint dinasour! Now we know when the stories take place, in the Jurasic Period.

[Sugary Snicket]

LOL.

Obviously not. I think it WAS the IDV which escaped, and mutated somehow to be able to breathe underwater? in TSS it's implied that probably the IDV escaped.

[Zavi]

That's actually a good theory...

It's entirely possible, as the Incredibly Deadly Viper probably was moved to the Prospero. But, then again, I think Snicket was implying that it was some sort of machine, not a living thing.

[Juan Roberto Montoya De Toledo]

And just because the question mark was curved, doesn't mean the actual thing is.

[Dante]

I take it that when the Incredibly Deadly Viper allegedly mutated to breath underwater, it also mutated to become incredibly large, larger than both the large Queequeg and even larger Carmelita?

[Alfred is Present]

I like the idea about the "thing" carrying the small submarine, but it's not as if the tail grasps it the whole time... unless it is chained so it looks like a question mark.

Also Carmelita (the brat, not the submarine) also commented that it looked like a big comma but becasue she is quite dim-witted, we can rule out the comma. No I cannot.
If the thing uncurled/curled, it may have looked like the comma/question mark.

,
?

I first thought about the Incredibly deadly viper, but no. Far too small.

[Sugary Snicket]

Hey, someone at least agreed with my crazy theory.... Remember, the Grim River is mostly sludge, and as we all know, all rivers eventually wind "somewhere safe to sea." Perhaps the Horseradish factory dumped certain chemical compunds, thus mutating the IDV? Remember, they WERE experimenting with ways to kill the Mycilium. Maybe radioactivity was one of the ones that did nothing, so they tossed it into the Grim River (I know, I know, they're with the good side of the schism and surely wouldn't pollute the river.... at least not on purpose.) and, because all rivers lead eventually out to sea, (at least in Snicketverse) The IDV either came into contact with it or ate it. Or maybe it was amphibeous to begin with.

EDIT: I drew a picture of it recently.

[lupinbaudelaire]

It could be entirely possible that the IDV was amphibeous, there weren't really any normal reptiles in Monty's collection

[Alfred is Present]

Regarding the illustration posted:
Where's the "vehicle" supposed to be with the "thing"?

Maybe I could agree with Carmelita. If "it" curled, it'd look like a question mark, but if it uncurled, it'd look like a comma.

The comma in the font we are using isn't that one with a large head.

, See? It's more of a slash.
The mutation thing is also possible, if the Prospero crew is not careful, IDV could've slipped from the boat, and fell somewhere it mutated.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

The IDV thing, like dante said, it just doesn't WORK.
In LSUA it's basically implied that all the reptiles in monty's factory are now Olaf's but the couple who owns the prospero I believe kept the IDV safe. I think Olaf would have said in tss "All the reptiles but one are now mine"
But Esme said "this submarine is no match for that thing" or something like that.
You're telling me an enormous octupus sub capable of taking whole submarines prisoner with like 20 rowers spinning these tons of tentacles is no match for a somewhat mutated snake? There's just no way. And on top of that, the IDV wasn't evil, it was one of least harmful and frienliest of snakes.

[Question Mark]

Yay for Question Mark(s).