Did you see the weird “things” in the image above? They suddenly appeared on several beaches of the Côte d'Opale, a coastal region in northern France and, visually speaking, "things" look like sponges or deformed pieces of foam or Styrofoam. However, according to Brigit Katz of Smithsonian.com, people who dared to touch these strange flakes said they had brittle consistency and were oily to the touch.

"Things"

The objects began to appear over the past week and were recorded on several beaches, including Wimereux La Slack, Equihen-Plage, Le Portel, Hardelot and Le Touquet, all of which are very popular at this time of year, which is the European summer. Since no one knew what the tufts were made of, the French authorities warned everyone not to touch the strange apparitions until samples were properly analyzed.

They asked nobody to get their hands on these things, but ... (Sea-Mer Association)

However, as the Côte d'Opale is on the banks of the English Channel - between France and England - where boat traffic is very heavy, it is obvious that suspicions soon turned to the possibility that “things ”Could consist of some kind of material or pollutant released by a ship passing through the region.

The suspicion was confirmed after tests revealed that the objects were nothing but pieces of paraffin. According to Tia Ghose of the Live Science website, this material is a derivative of petroleum that, besides being used in the manufacture of a wide variety of products such as candles, cosmetics and crayons, has numerous properties, including lubricant., insulating and anti-corrosive, for example.

Sea of ​​Acorns (Sea-Mer Association)

In addition, it is common for the material to be released from the exhausts of vessels, and the sea-traffic control bodies in the English Channel allow limited quantities of this waste to be disposed of at sea - so much so that it turns and moves any of these acorns in one place or another. other.

However, because of the sheer volume of fragments that have appeared, the French authorities suspect that some smart guy has decided to ignore the laws and get rid of all the stuff near the coast, messing up the beaches. Luckily, the material offers no risk to bathers, nor to the flora or fauna of the region. However, if the rules continue to be disregarded and other substances are released along with paraffin, there may be a danger of contamination.