this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2024
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And Finally...

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Australian scientists have solved a mystery which has gripped Sydney: what were the sticky dark blobs which washed up on some of the city's famed beaches last month?

Initially believed to be tar balls, they were in fact a "disgusting" combination of human faeces, cooking oil, chemicals and illicit drugs, researchers say.

...

Last month authorities in New South Wales (NSW) said they suspected the objects were a mixture of fatty acids, fuel oil and chemicals found in cleaning and cosmetic products.

But further testing found the material is unlikely to have originated solely from an oil spill or waste from a ship, as some had thought.

Each ball was slightly different but had a firm surface - hardened partially by accumulating sand and minerals like calcium - and a soft core.

Inside was everything from cooking oil and soap scum molecules, to blood pressure medication, pesticides, hair, methamphetamine and veterinary drugs.

"They smell absolutely disgusting, they smell worse than anything you've ever smelt," lead investigator Associate Professor Jon Beves, from the University of NSW, told 9News.

Professor William Alexander Donald said they resembled fat, oil, and grease blobs - often called fatbergs - which are commonly formed in sewerage systems.

Detecting this along with recreational drugs and and industrial chemicals had "pointed us to sewage and other sources of urban effluent", he explained

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[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I think it says a lot about Australia that methamphetamine is present in significant enough quantities to be worth mentioning.

[–] sunbather@beehaw.org 2 points 4 days ago

reminder that a new kind of ketamine was discovered in australia and although i cant find the quote users have supposedly described it as worse than the usual stuff

[–] contortions@lemm.ee 11 points 4 days ago

somebody getting called back into the Black Lodge

[–] dave 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I hope they’ve been taken outside the environment now.

Yes, we burned them

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

back to pumping shit in the bay i see

[–] Hossenfeffer 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

'disgusting' balls

My ex-girlfriend's nickname for me.

[–] Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee 3 points 4 days ago

You might consider an anti-fungal shampoo

[–] M137@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

I would not be surprised if someone took some, dried and then smoked them. Free drugs!

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Squid Game island is leaking