Millions Of Lego Pieces Keep Washing Up On This Beach. Here's Why
Definitely every Lego fan's dream.
By Darian Goh — 23 Jul 2014, 12:27 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
On 13 February 1997, the Tokio Express lost a few containers containing millions of Lego pieces after a freak storm hit the ship
The Tokio Express was en-route from Rotterdam to New York on February 13, 1997, when a wild wave struck it 20 miles west of Land's End, tilting it back and forth at such a sharp degree it lost 62 containers.
dailymail.co.ukThere is little mystery about this particular case: in 1997, off the coast of Cornwall, the container ship Tokio Express was hit by a giant wave, described by its captain as a "once in a 100-year phenomenon", and spilled nearly 5m Lego accessories.
theguardian.com
The Tokio Express was en route from Rotterdam to New York on Feb. 13, 1997, when a wild wave struck it off Land's End.
nydailynews.com17 years later, these 'lost' Lego pieces are being washed up on shore on a beach in Cornwall, England
For the last 17 years, Lego pieces have been washing up on the shores of Cornwall, England, to the delight of mystified beachgoers.
yahoo.com
17 Years after a ship tossed millions of Lego pieces into the sea, they are still washing up on the shores of Cornwall, England.For 17 years, Lego pieces have been washing up on the shores of Cornwall, England, mostly in nautical themes: There are spear guns, pirate-style cutlass swords, flippers, pieces of scuba gear and the rare and coveted octopus or dragon, according to Yahoo.com.
Tracey Williams runs a Facebook page dedicated to these lost items and have posted pictures of Lego findings on the page
According to Tracey Williams, a British writer who launched a Facebook page — Lego Lost at Sea — to document the Lego discoveries, most of the 4.8 million pieces were nautical-themed: scuba gear, seagrass and spear guns among the plastic dragons and daisies.
yahoo.comTracey Williams, from Newquay, said: 'There's stories of kids in the late 1990s having buckets of dragons on the beach, selling them. 'These days the holy grail is an octopus or a dragon. I only know of three octopuses being found, and one was by me, in a cave in Challaborough.
dailymail.co.ukSome of these pieces have made their way around the world, such as a possible discovery by an Australian woman who found a Lego flipper five years ago
While confirmed findings from the Lego container have been limited to the U.K. to date, Facebook users around the world have been reporting possible discoveries. Last week, a woman from Australia sent Williams a photo of a Lego flipper found washed ashore in Melbourne "sometime in the last five years."
yahoo.comAlthough these washed up Lego parts are a dream come true for Lego enthusiasts, it is a nightmare for environmentalists
Though the strange treasure may be able to teach us something about ocean currents, the resilience of plastic in the oceans has environmental activists worried. After 17 years, the plastic plunder washes up looking nearly as good as the day the pieces were manufactured, if not a little sandy.
"If you look at the washed-up Lego, it looks perfect, like it's just come out of the box," Claire Wallerstein, head of a Cornwall beach care group, told the BBC. "Plastic in the sea is not going to just decompose and go away."
yahoo.com