Mysterious Gooey Blobs Washed Up on Canada Beaches Baffle Experts

[C0RI0LANUS]

Hundreds of mysterious white blobs have been washing up on beaches across Newfoundland for over a month, sparking an investigation by Canadian authorities. (Photograph: Facebook/Philip Grace)

They are slimy on the outside, firm and spongy on the inside and surprisingly combustible. And in recent months, they have been washing up on the shores of Newfoundland.

A man named Philip Grace uploaded an image of a pale, gooey mass, which he compared to the dough used to make toutons, a Newfoundland fried delicacy.

Grace’s post about the blobs, which he said ranged in size from “dinner plate right down to a toonie [the Canadian two-dollar coin]”, prompted a frenzy of possible explanations – paraffin wax, sea sponges, mold, and ambergris – none of which withstood closer scrutiny.



“They looked just like a pancake before you flip it over, when it has those dimpled little bubbles. I poked a couple with a stick and they were spongy and firm inside,” a beachcomber said.

“I’ve lived here for 67 years and I’ve never seen anything like this, never.”

“They sent the Coast Guard over and I asked them how bad it was. They told me they had 46km [28 miles] of coastline littered with this stuff and had no idea what it was. Is it toxic? It is safe for people to touch?” asked the beachcomber.

The gooey shapes aren’t the first blobs to excite locals. In 2001, residents discovered the Fortune Bay “Blobster” sea monster that had washed ashore – a ragged and oozing white mass. Months later, however, researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland concluded it was part of a decomposing sperm whale corpse, pictured below.



These new blobs don’t appear to be linked to whales, despite commenters in the Beachcombers group suggesting they could be “whale boogers”, “whale sperm” or “whale vomit” – all of which have been ruled out.

Someone speculated that the substance could be discharge from ships travelling to and from the Come By Chance refinery, 80km north of Patrick’s Cove.

Federal scientists have also been on the case but have produced few leads. They ruled out a petroleum hydrocarbon, a petroleum lubricant, or a biofuel, and a full battery of tests could take months.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/15/mysterious-white-blobs-canada-beaches-experts-marine-scientists

https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Sea_Monster.html

[Fullduplexxx]

1. It's aliens

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2. Either aliens or the sea creatures in John Wyndham's "The Kraken Wakes" (which later became a film).

or



Yup, the only movie NASA astronaut/USAF Major Tony Nelson ever directed.

"Jeannie!"

[Poiuyt]

3. Great big gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts

[C0RI0LANUS]

4. A fine alliteration. Perhaps testing will prove they're benign and determine their origins.