There is no debating the fact that there is a ton of junk in our oceans. But because of that, there tends to be a lot of strange things that can show up on shore. Sometimes these things are manmade, other times these things are organic. But whatever it is, it usually isn't something that you would expect to show up--like a beached whale. From cherry toothpaste to heaps of flesh, these are the weirdest things that people have found washed up on their beaches.
Paraffin Wax
When these yellow blobs started washing ashore on French beaches, people weren't sure what to make of it. They didn't seem harmful, but they certainly had a weird look to them and didn't seem like they were safe to touch. They almost looked like something a whale would have upchucked. Eventually, though, officials investigated the sighting and determined that these weird, fluffy blobs may just be the material paraffin wax.
You may have heard of this before, and that's because it's extremely common. It's a derivative of petroleum and is used in everything from candles to keeping ships afloat (which they suspect is where they came from).
A Maraschino Bottle
This Maraschino bottle may be empty, but it once held a liquor that no longer exists. It is over two hundred years old, having once held inside an alcoholic beverage enjoyed by the Austro-Hungarian empire. It came from the Cosmacendi Palace located in Zadar, Croatia but is now The Museum Of Ancient Glass. This must have been an incredible find as it's completely undamaged including the real of the original maker.
You would think that something like this would get completely destroyed in the ocean, yet somehow it was able to make its way back to shore without injury. Another piece of history is secured.
A Vintage Spoon
This spoon is so vintage that being out in the ocean for too long caused it to get completely tarnished and covered in muck. Yet after a good scrubbing, it seems that they were able to make it look almost as good as new. Sure, there's still a bunch of black tar all over it, but being able to see what this spoon used to be is honestly a really cool sight.
Maybe this fell off of a cruise ship at some point when someone was eating dinner. It's interesting to think that someone in this world could look at this spoon and recognize it. Although, at this point, they're probably long gone.
A Jar Of Toothpaste
If you've ever wanted to see what toothpaste looked like back in the day, nows your chance. Yes, that's right. Someone managed to find an almost completely intact toothpaste from the victorian era. It's a pot of cherry toothpaste made by John Cosnell & Co. in London and was made sometime between 1850-1900. Who would have thought that you could find something so interesting in the ocean? We hope they didn't use the sea water to rinse.
Something else that's sticking out to us is the use of cherries to flavor it. Sure, the point, in the end, is to preserve your gums and teeth, but who likes cherry flavor, especially for toothpaste?
A Toothbrush
If you thought the toothpaste was weird, wait till you get a load of this: apparently, someone threw their toothbrush into the ocean. Maybe they were at sea but had no fresh seawater so they resorted to wetting it by giving it a little dip. Not exactly the healthiest way to do things, but hey, whatever gets the job done, right? Well, maybe we'd rather wait the extra day, cause no fresh water means you're going back to port.
Of course, all of that was hearsay, but there's no proof against it either. Well, to whoever was doing their twice dailies at seas, you have earned our respect... except for the littering.
Old Coins
These coins are almost a hundred years old. They were known as "Hellers" and were used in the Austro-Hungarian Empire between the early 1890s to the late 1910s. On one side of the coin is the number two and on the other side is a double-headed eagle. These coins fell out of use when the empire fell, but being able to find this many coins all in the same place is truly astounding.
One of the coins is even dated to 1897. That makes it over 120 years old! If these things were in mint condition, they could probably sell for a pretty penny.
Creme Jris
This face care bottle came all the way from Germany over a hundred years ago. It was filled with what was called Creme Jris and was used in facecare. We're not sure if it originally had some coloring to it that eventually wore off, but it's col that you can still make out what this bottle was in the past. That's not something you can say about a lot of relics.
It was originally made by the pharmacy Weiss & Co. in Giessen Germany. Obviously they're not around anymore, so they probably won't be missing this bottle. Maybe it should be recycled.
Clay Marbles
These little balls so elegantly decorated to look like pearls definitely didn't come out of the ocean like that. They were probably some sort of marble used for games or other activities. The reason that they don't resemble the traditional glass marbles of today, though, is due to the cost of making them. Instead of glass, these were made out of different clays because that was a lot cheaper back in the day.
While they may not have the same satisfying clack that knocking together some glass marbles might have, we don't doubt that these would probably have been just as fun to play with.
Mineral Water Bottles
This bottle once contained Roncegno mineral water enriched with such minerals as iron and arsenic. It came from a place in Italy by the same name near Trento. It has actually been in circulation since the latter half of the 19th century and you could probably get yourself some of this "medicinal" spring water in its new form today. Although it may be bottled differently, you can still enjoy this legacy.
What's interesting about these bottles is the way that they were packaged. Cobalt blue glass bottles are definitely an interesting choice whereas most water today is kept in clear, or at least partially see-through, glasses.
Dishware From A Sunken Ship
These chipped-off bits of dishware are from a plate and a cup that were onboard a ship before it was in a shipwreck. This ship was a part of the biggest shipping company of Austria-Hungary and the Mediterranean. The ship would eventually meet its demise two years after the Titanic sank in August 1914. In fact, the number of victims was similar, so it became known as the Adriatic Titanic.
Although this late and cup may not have survived the experience intact, what's really intriguing is that the symbols used to identify them were left completely unaltered by their environment.
A Glass Stamp
This is a glass stamp from another bottle of Maraschino liquor. Although the bottle is gone, its seal is perhaps more valuable than the bottle itself. Like the other bottle of liquor, this came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire sometime before the 1920s. It was made by someone named Simeon Brainovich and came from Split, Croatia. The fact that it came out with only a minor crack in it is pretty amazing.
Even more amazing is the amount of alcohol bottles that made their way into the ocean. Maybe it's time that we really start working on clearing the sea of all the debris and recycle it for more alcohol.
An Old Button
Speaking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, thi button also comes from around that time. It is over one hundred years old. We're not sure if it was made with gold or some other type of metal, but maybe the tarnish on it could give someone a clue. Interestingly, we think that a button like this might have been from some sort of really formal dress ware. It would be too intricate for something else.
We can imagine it being more of a display of allegiance and patriotism rather than an actual fastener for clothing. It would probably be a bit too elegant for use as all of the buttons in something plain.
A Beer Bottle
Yet another bottle of alcohol washed away to shore. There must have been an uncountable amount of pirates in the past few centuries. This is a bottle of beer with these words inscribed: "Proprieta L. Dejak Pola", the "L." standing for Luigi and Dejak being his last name. At least, that's who supposedly owned the brewery for this beer. He received many prizes for his wine and beer, though we guess that didn't last too long.
By that we mean we've never heard of him. Granted, he made alcohol around the late 19th century, so it makes sense. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to throw it into the sea mind you.
A Vintage Vase
Speaking of things thrown into the sea, somehow this beautiful vase got tossed in as well. There's no way to tell whether that happened before or after it got broken and we also can't tell why anyone would get rid of such a vintage treasure. To be fair, there are probably much prettier vases nowadays, but as people who can appreciate vintage goods, this seems like a waste.
Maybe whoever threw it in thought that that is what would be best for the flowers left inside. r maybe it's part of a shipwreck like so many of the other items we've seen.
Ice Balls
When you think of frigid waters, you'd expect to see large sheets of ice forming on the top of the water. Something like an iceberg or ice shelves is what immediately comes to mind. So when these large snowballs started washing ashore, people started asking questions. But it seems that the science behind it is pretty simple. Bits of ice crystals and slush get rolled around by the waves, and as they freeze more water, they end up becoming rounded.
The thing is that while this might happen pretty often, they don't typically turn out quite this big. Although it's not impossible, it was still a pretty weird thing to see.
Healing Water
Now here's an interesting bottle out at sea. It's the kind that you would expect to see coming with a note inside. But with this, all you're gonna get is a lousy cork. This is a bottle of "l’Acqua di Melissa" which basically means that it's a bottle of famous healing water made from the melissa herb, otherwise known as lemon balm. Well, if it wasn't good for healing, lemon water is always nice.
And if you had a stopper of your own, you could even save this stylish bottle for your regular water storage. Though, the things they had for that were probably more reliable.
Clay Mineral Water Jug
And if healing water wasn't interesting enough for you, then maybe this one will tickle your fancy: it's a bottle of mineral water from Germany. This specific bottle was made between 1836 to 1866 as evidenced by the stamp. The company that made these, OberSelters, is still active today. So if you want to get your hands on this famous mineral water, you still can. You might just need to make a journey.
What's interesting to us is the design of the clay vessel that it's kept in. Was it sold that way, or was this for restaurants? And was it reusable? So many questions left unanswered.
Sea Pickles
Ever heard of sea cucumbers? Well, these are not the same creature and they certainly weren't brined. They are bumpy, translucent, ad slimy creatures that live in the sea. They are also known as pyrosomes. Around the time that they suddenly started showing up on beaches, these creatures had begun to take up residence on the Pacific coastline. They live in huge communities numbering in the millions so they were bound to start washing ashore.
The thing is, they are usually found in more tropical climates, so it was a little bit strange to see these things suddenly start showing up all across the US beaches.
An Old Bullet
What you might not expect to find lost at sea is one of these. Sure, pirates sometimes had pistols, so maybe some bullets could be found at sea, but this is a bullet from a Mannlicher M1888 rifle which was used from 1888 (go figure) until 1890 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Though, maybe we aren't giving it enough credit. There probably were some fight at sea, so it's totally possible this would end up there.
Whatever the case, it's very cool to see something like this come out of the ocean. And what's more, is that it seems to be an unfired bullet as well.
Kerosene Lamp Burner
This thing is a piece of an 1850s R. DITMAR Wien kerosene lamp burner. Ironically enough, this would probably still work if it was fully intact despite having taken a dip in the ocean. Because of its metallic composition and non-electronic nature, there is a strong chance that all it would need to work is to dry off in the sun. How lucky for the person who wants to cook on the beach and happens to have some kerosene!
All jokes aside, this would be such a cool replacement for a camping stove. That being said, we recommend bringing one just in case this idea doesn't go as planned.
An Oarfish
Oarfish are massive fish that live deep under the ocean. These fish rarely come up to the surface, so when this one washed up on shore, scientists were quick to jump in so they could study the creature--and apparently, they found it to have some pretty oversized ovaries of all things. This specific oarfish was about 13 feet in length, so we're not all that surprised by it's enormous internal organs.
That being said, it's already weird enough to think of whales getting beached, but a fish like this is something you don't normally see. But when they get injured or are dying, they tend to swim to the surface and can end up beached.
An Old Marine Outfit Button
This is another button from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, specifically a marine uniform. Do they just love to throw things into the sea? Maybe we shouldn't be questioning why these things are there considering they are the official clothes of the army. At the very least, this solves the mystery of the bullet found t sea. Maybe it even came from the same group of people that left this button behind.
It definitely looks a lot less high-ranking than the button we saw before, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. It's cool that the design didn't get eroded too badly.
A Special Pendant
But perhaps cooler than a button from an old marine uniform would be finding this medallion out on the beach. This coin depicts on one side the Monte Santo mountain in Slovenia and on the other side depicts the apparition of the Virgin Mary of whom the mountain actually got its name. It's not exactly clear when this pendant was made, but it has to be at least 100 years old.
If we found something like this, we would definitely consider making some jewelry out of it. Though maybe it would actually do better in a historical museum of some kind.
A Vintage Fork
After the cup, plate, and spoon, we think that this might a whole set of dishes. As it turns out, you can go fishing in the sea for all of the tableware you need. Though, they might be quite tarnished and not at all sanitary at the time of discovery. We wonder if anyone would actually go through the trouble of restoring old dishes and things that they found at sea or during an expedition.
Honestly, we wouldn't be so mad about that. We think it could actually be a really cool project to do, though definitely a little too time consuming for our tastes.
A Piece Of A Stoneware Lid
We had some toothpaste already, why not another type of beauty product? This little thing is part of the lid of a larger stoneware pot meant to hold some of Atkinson's Rose Cold Cream. If you're not sure what this is, it was basically just shaving cream, but it also had the benefit of being spreadable on one's lips like a chapstick. Oh, and it was also a rose-scented perfume. Yummy!
That honestly sounds like a really good deal. We wonder why we don't see more products like this on store shelves. Maybe they exist but we just aren't looking for them hard enough.
Another Bottle Of Alcohol
Another day, another empty bottle of alcohol floating in the sea. We hate to see this type of behavior being condoned, but considering how old all of these bottles have been we can't imagine the people knowing that this was doing a really bad job for the earth's ecosystem. And to be fair, would they even care? They would find out that they have more time and just keep on keeping on.
Though, maybe we're not giving them enough credit. Still, we can't help but wonder how much stuff hasn't been uncovered and is currently terrorizing the poor creatures under the sea.
This Organ Looking Thing
This weird thing that looks like a literal organ ended up washing ashore one day. The person who found it went over to Reddit to ask for assistance and many people thought it could be some sort of sea hare, side gill, or limpet. But no one could really agree to an answer because it was starting to decompose and it was only a part of whatever creature it belonged to.
But there was one thing that biologists might have been able to agree upon; it was probably a part of the creature's gut that had gotten bloated since the time of its death.
A Fancy Plate
This is half of a French plate from the 1860s. Considering the date on it and the elaborate design, we think that this might have been used more for finer dining rather than an everyday meal, sort of like Chinaware. That being said, we don't actually know where it came from, so maybe they used it for every meal of the day. It's definitely too early for a cruise ship.
Well, whatever the case, we really like the design. We'd really love to have a set of our own, but we would only be so lucky to find a full set of this kind of vintage tableware.
A Lead Seal
These lead seals are pretty much the same as the tags we see when we o shopping for clothes. They were used to communicate a variety of things when selling products, such as quality, size, place of origin, manufacture, circulation, and taxation. They were usually associated with fabrics and textiles but could be found with anything from tobacco to salt. They were easy to mold and would remain until the good reached their destination.
We feel, though, that the minute you find out it's lead that you should put it down and never touch it again. It may be small, but prolonged exposure can potentially be toxic.
By-The-Wind-Sailors
These hydrozoans are not true jellyfish, but they sure look like them. They are known by many names including called by-the-wind-sailors because they use their sails to travel from place to place by catching the wind and riding the currents of the ocean surface. But they aren't meant to come to the shore, obviously, so when they showed up by the thousands on California beaches people were understandably concerned.
Unfortunately, storms and other ocean activity can end up pushing them out onto the beaches where they end up drying up and dying. It's a sad fate for the cute little blue sailors.
A Galosh
These galoshes were made by the Helsingborgs Gummifabriks AB company, a Swedish corporation that made rubber products. Because rubber and galoshes are really good for water, we think that whoever lost this was probably missing it a lot. being out at sea without the proper footwear is probably super frustrating and we don't want to think about having to go through that. Well, maybe it's not all so bad.
These galoshes were meant to be placed over the shoe to help it be more water-resistant. Maybe they didn't lose their shoes after all, but all the water that would get in probably made them want to do so.
Magnesia Bottle
This beautiful little vial used to hold a concoction called milk of magnesia. For the uninitiated, milk of magnesia is a traditional remedy dating back to the late 1800s. It's pretty much exclusively used for indigestion. You can still find it today, but because of he amount of sulfates, it has become outlawed in certain countries. Maybe that means you should reconsider using it for yourself and get some Pepto-Bismol.
Still, this is a really cool vial. Sort of "The Legend of Zelda"-esque.Though, we highly doubt that that liquid inside is the original stuff. It's probably more likely to make the photo look nice.
Nail Polish Bottle
There have been so many beauty care products coming out of the sea that we're in no way surprised to see this bottle of nail polish. We can't tell how old it is, but judging by the glass beading around what used to be the neck of the bottle, we think this is less so contemporary and probably a bit of a vintage piece. Of course, we're not appraisers, so don't take our word for it.
But it does beg the question as to how it got out there. It can't be more than 100 years old so we're hoping no one littered this on purpose.
This Terrifying Creature
This thing--whatever it is--is something we never want to see again. It looks like an elephant or turtle creature that has quite literally given up on life. But when you look closely, you'll see that it's a lot bigger than at first glance. It's terrifying to look at, and even more terrifying to find out what it really is. This thing is a big mass of flesh from some sea creature.
Specifically, scientists had identified this to be a part of a decomposing baleen whale as evidenced by the grooves in its head area and visible plates that seemed to have baleen filters.
A Massive Heap Of Flesh
Speaking of whales... In 2016, this massive grayish blob of goo washed onto an Acapulco beach in Mexico, and onlookers and officials were completely taken aback. What was this huge, shapeless hunk of flesh? Unfortunately, it really seemed that this was a real biological mound of something according to researchers. If you're squeamish, you may not want to read on especially if you are an animal lover. You've been warned.
It turns out that this mass was none other than the decaying flesh of the head of sperm whales. More specifically, this is a mass of the connective tissue from the upper part of the head known as "the junk". Truly nightmarish stuff.