Mysterious 'blobs' are washing up on Newfoundland shore

[Still Waters]

White blobs have been washing up on the beaches of Newfoundland recently, sparking an investigation by Canadian officials.

They have been described by resident Stan Tobin as doughy - "like someone had tried to bake bread and done a lousy job" - with an odour reminiscent of vegetable oil.

Beachcombers on the southern tip of the Canadian province began reporting the strange substance around early September.

The BBC has reached out to Ottawa officials for comment, but has not received a response.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg56pqdedz6o

[TheBritMan]

Like Vegetable Oil? Do people even know what that smells like?

[+Hammerclaw]

2 hours ago, TheBritMan said:

Like Vegetable Oil? Do people even know what that smells like?

Cooking oil.

[Saru]

Perhaps this was some sort of liquid substance that was lost overboard from a ship and then congealed into blobs in the water before being washed up.

[XenoFish]

Looks like soggy toilet paper or paper towels.

[Oniomancer]

Remains of a fatberg that made it out to sea?

[Claira]

On 10/14/2024 at 5:20 PM, Saru said:

Perhaps this was some sort of liquid substance that was lost overboard from a ship and then congealed into blobs in the water before being washed up.

A biology professor believes the blobs are the result of a container full of Bisquick mix that fell off a transport ship.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/nature/outdoors/the-surprising-theory-behind-newfoundlands-mystery-blobs

[Claira]

Mystery solved. Chemists have reached the conclusion that the material was most likely a butyl rubber PVA composite, used in the oil and gas industry to clean out the pipes that feed oil into tankers.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/07/canada-blob-mystery-solved