Strange white blobs recently washed up on Canada’s beaches, and they’re making everyone a little wary.
While the mysterious objects might not be cause for concern, experts don’t know enough about them to make any promises. In fact, the Canadian Coast Guard ended up briefly roping off portions of the North Atlantic isle so officials could investigate.
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“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it, and I’ve lived right here in Placentia Bay my whole life,” said David McGrath, 67, who was one of the individuals who first spotted the strange blobs.
Apparently, these strange things range in size, with some as large as a plate. They’re also sticky, and some people claim they smell like paint.
“It had a texture similar to not-fully-cooked dough or foam,” said Philip Grace, a beachcomber who discovered a blob with his wife. He attempted to pry one apart, which is how he learned its texture was similar to touton dough.
Grace shared photos of the blobs to a Facebook group called Beachcombers of Newfoundland and Labrador, asking others for their input.
Tons of beachcombers joked in the comments section of the post, stating the blobs could be whale sperm, alien poo, or—my personal favorite—Swiss cheese.
According to The New York Times, environmental officers and scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada collected samples of the blobs and conducted “several aerial, underwater, and manual surveys of the beaches and shorelines.”
“At this time, neither the substance nor its source has been identified,” the agency said after its testing. However, there are some indications that they might be plant-based.
“There is no one telltale piece of information that’s going to slam-dunk this,” added Christopher Reddy, a senior scientist in marine chemistry and geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
In the meantime, officials urged beachgoers to practice caution when coming into contact with these mysterious blobs.
“If something came to my lab that was a complete unknown, I would have to treat it with a certain cautiousness,” Reddy said.
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