The items you may stumble upon at the beach are usually nothing out of the ordinary. Apart from seashells, dead corals, and algae that washed ashore, you may also find rocks, pebbles, and, unfortunately, litter.
However, some people come across interesting finds that you won’t see during a typical day by the ocean. We’re talking about oddly colored sea creatures, jewelry from eons ago, and eroded parts from what appears to be an ancient sea vessel, among many others.
We’ve collected these images from the different corners of Reddit. Scroll through and upvote those that catch your eye!
Since the planet is made up of 70% water, it’s inevitable for things to end up in the ocean. A 2020 study painted a picture, revealing an estimated 23 metric tons of plastic waste in waterways in 2016.
These figures likely do not include the 28,000 rubber duckies that fell into the Pacific Ocean in 1992. The kiddie toys came from a freighter that capsized while traveling from China to America after being caught in a storm.
A similar incident occurred in 1997, when a cargo ship carrying five million LEGO bricks capsized off the southwest coast of England. The sea vessel was traveling from Rotterdam to New York and lost all 62 shipping containers.
The incident, more infamously known as the Great LEGO Spill, is deemed the “single largest toy-related environmental disaster in history. Many experts claim that people continue to find LEGO pieces to this day.
Finding plastic toys in the ocean is one thing, but what if you stumble upon something so strange-looking that it causes panic in you? This is what happened in 2019, when a mysterious-looking orb washed up on the shores of East London.
Police initially suspected it to be an unexploded bomb and called on inspectors to investigate. But upon closer look, it turned out to be a giant Christmas bauble.
Due to the large number of discarded items that fall into the ocean, many experts have used them to track currents. In 2023, Kagoshima University Professor Shigeru Fujieda stipulated that disposable cigarette lighters could be an excellent tracking tool.
“Disposable lighters are one of the few types of marine litter that have evidence of their source, because they have printed information about the consuming country or city (e.g., point of sale address or telephone number),” Fujieda wrote in his paper published in the Regional Studies in Marine Science.
According to research ecologist Andrew DeVogelaere, discarded items that wash up ashore can be removed. The problem arises when items like hazardous medical waste, for example, sink to the bottom of the ocean and become trapped there.
“We don’t even know the names of a lot of these things,” he told Popular Science. “We’re impacting a whole ecosystem that we don’t even understand.”
Redditor froguille replied:
"Blue glaucus (glaucus Atlanticus) I believe they're also called blue angels. Only reason I know is I used to research sea slugs and sea cucumbers during my high school study halls....."
User ActuallyAdrien added:
"All I can say is don't touch!"
ThomasIFC Report
We asked around and it turns out that these are submarine detectors, nothing to worry about, no explosive inside!
TheRealWarrior0 Report
We found this small sealed glass vial with an orange liquid inside that had washed up on the beach in Scotland. Any ideas what it could be? Should I resist the urge to crack it open.
occasionalrant414:
It's in too good a condition to be, but it sort of looks like the acid ampoules the British used on limpet mines and other demolition munitions during WW2.
They worked by being put into the detonation system, then being crushed. The acid would eat through copper wire (different thickness of wire slowed down or sped up the time). Once the wire split, the detonator would trigger and bang.
The ones I saw, admittedly years and years ago, were a bit flatter? I saw them in a museum in Portsmouth back when I was at college - 20+yrs ago. They came in a impact resistant case.
Can't be, but looks similar.
Secret_Artist_8092:
The North Sea is full of WW2 weapons that were dumped.
GlassHalfFullback Report
Anonymous:
it's a bluebottle.
didnt sting you because a lot of them lose their tentacles when theyre washed up. theyre pretty common.
it seems to be attached to some pebbles and a Vellela.
goforajog Report
What type of unusual beach find would excite you most?
Oddly colored sea creatures
Ancient jewelry
Parts of old sea vessels
SpaceX thermal tiles
Total votes • 570