Author: Cara Giaimo / Source: Atlas Obscura
Summer is the right time to wander aimlessly, and the beach is a great place to do it. But you have to watch your step: the ocean is always tossing up weird trash and treasures, from rainbow-colored plastic eggs to mysterious sea blobs.
Last week, we asked Atlas Obscura readers to share the strangest things they had come across on the beach. Wow, did you deliver. The ocean, as you experience it, has a sense of humor and a sense of mystery. It’s full of trash, gifts, missives, and artifacts. (Plus dentures—lots and lots of dentures. At least nine of you have found false teeth, and some of you have come across more than one set.)
There was strange synchronicity in many of these tales. Two people found their own class rings, returned to them after days or years. Some came across things that others might interpret as garbage, but seemed to be speaking directly to them. Others participated in larger flotsam-based cultural events, and told us about scooping up a mysterious piece of Tjipeter gutta-percha, or playing the East River Piano.
Below are some more of our favorite finds, collected and spread out just for you. Happy reading, and may the ocean give you what you need.
Gifts From the Sea
“I found a large blue laundry basket in good shape with labels in Japanese.
I used it for many years.” —Que Estavia, Seattle, Washington“In 1987, I found a gold ring with my name enameled in Hawaiian. Never questioned it.” —Mary, Alberta, Canada
“A coconut—in perfect shape, wrapped up in seaweed. We took it home, cracked it and it was nicer than any I bought in the store.” —Robin Read, Vancouver Island, Canada
“A Little Mermaid-themed plastic comb. I was tide pooling in a pretty inaccessible rocky beach on the central Maine coast, about an hour north of Acadia National Park. It was caught in the seaweed hanging off the ocean side of one of the rocks. This just struck me as really funny because of how thematically appropriate it was … My mother and I joked that it belonged to a young mermaid who was a huge fan of the movie.” —Alex Hale, Chicago
“A man’s Timex watch. The leather band was badly damaged by the salt, sand, and time, and the back of the case was corroded. True to their advertising, it was still ticking.” —Bob Sawyer, Duluth, Georgia
“While holidaying in Durban, South Africa with Indian friends I came across a small soapstone figure of Lakshmi. She is the Hindu deity for wealth and prosperity, our friends were very excited by the find and encouraged me to hang on to it. I did as it was quite pretty and unusual as the waves had weathered it. In the passing two years my life has completely changed, leaving my well-paid job of 14 years to pursue more fulfilling lesser-paid work. I have become happier in these last few years than I have in my previous 35 years. I don’t suggest that the figure itself has had the impact but maybe implanted something in me that makes me think differently than before. I keep her on my desk with me when I’m working at all times and several times a week will spot her and think.” —Dave Curtis, Kildare, Ireland
Life…Finds a Way
“At Sydney Harbour in 1996, I found a glass bottle with a shellfish shell inside. Lots of rubbish goes in the harbor so I just assumed the creature washed into the bottle when it was small and grew too big to get out. Once it died the shells were left stuck inside.” —Dianne, Australia
“After a heavy storm on the island of Senja in the north of Norway, I went for a walk on the beach and found several light bulbs, mostly quite old ones, some fluorescent tubes of 1m long. All of them were whole and one of them was still functioning when plugged into a socket!” —Oona Libens, Sweden
“A whistle with a tiny crab in it. I put it back in the sea. I wonder if it found a better ‘home.’” —Marianne Davila, Northern Puerto Rico
“In Camp Osborn, south of Mantoloking, NJ, in the fall of 1975, the wind was stiff and blowing offshore. I noticed odd bits along the edge of the surf. There were dozens of exhausted butterflies that had been blown into the ocean and…
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