UM-Bot Posted December 1, 2014 #1 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Strange rectangular rubber-like blocks have been washing up on European shores for almost 100 years. When Tracey Williams came across one of the blocks while walking her dog along a beach in Cornwall her initial reaction was one of minor curiosity, but when she decided to find out how the object had come to be there her investigation would end up leading her on a trail that spanned the better part of a century. Read More: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/275300/solving-the-mystery-of-the-tjipetir-blocks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozfactor Posted December 1, 2014 #2 Share Posted December 1, 2014 What was their purpose originally ? Would you think after decades in the ocean, they would have either eroded or become barnacle encrusted ? .. at least we know their origins, unlike the feet washing up on some poor unfortunate beach ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted December 1, 2014 #3 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Just the ocean's way or giving our garbage back to us that it can't use. Is something about how clean they look in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted December 1, 2014 #4 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Quote: The word Tjipetir turned out to be that of a rubber plantation in West Java, Indonesia, which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The blocks were not strictly rubber - they are most likely gutta-percha, the gum of a tree found in the Malay Peninsula and Malaysia. It was used in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries to insulate telegraph cables on the seabed. Before modern plastic began to be widely used, gutta-percha was also made into such items as golf balls, teddy bear noses, picture frames and jewelry, among many others. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Many ships would have been carrying gutta-percha, so it's possible that the cargo is coming from more than one source," says Williams, who is writing a book about the Tjipetir story. " Source: The OP's article; http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30043875 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted December 1, 2014 #5 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Gee, that must be good stuff to hold up that well. Looks like part of a shipwreck. Cool find, you find all kind junk washed on a shoreline besides shells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qxcontinuum Posted December 2, 2014 #6 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Not so much biodegradable huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Sounds Posted December 2, 2014 #7 Share Posted December 2, 2014 kinda reminds me of that container of lego that went overboard in 97 and now keeps washing up on a beach in cornwall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karasu Posted December 2, 2014 #8 Share Posted December 2, 2014 So the mystery has been solved. Now they need to just solve the mystery of why kids love cinnamon toast crunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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