Photo: Twitter
Well that’s going to be tough to clean.
Here’s something you don’t see everyday I’m sure. Police drove up to quite the scene when a truck carrying 7,500 pounds of live hagfish failed to stop at a construction site and of course had all of its gooey contents spill onto the highway and all over nearby cars.
Just take a look at this tweet shared by the Oregon State Police.
OSP @OregonDOT & @LincolnCountySO on scene overturned #Slime #Eel truck Hwy101 MP131 closed. #Cleanup on Aisle 101 pic.twitter.com/Z9s9XbQ247
— Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) July 13, 2017
Here’s a closer look.
Photo: Twitter
When the truck failed to stop, one of it’s containers filled with live hagfish flipped and landed in the opposite lane, causing all this chaos. The crash caused a four-car pileup, and while there were no major injuries, there were hagfish casualties.
Thanks @OregonDOT pic.twitter.com/SmwHtWLeQ3
— Depoe Bay Fire Dist. (@DepoeBayFire) July 13, 2017
Via Huffington Post
Pacific hagfish, also known as slime eel or snot snake, are considered one of the most disgusting animals in the ocean, per Smithsonian Magazine. Although they look similar to eels, they are actually a fish that has no jaws or bones. Hagfish still have two rows of tooth-like keratin which they use to burrow deep into carcasses to eat their meals from the inside out.
When distressed, the fish produces a white, sticky slime all over its body. This allows the hagfish to slip away when predators attempt to eat it, leaving behind a gulp of goo. Marine scientist Andrew David Thaler wrote on his blog that a single hagfish is capable of filling a five-gallon bucket with slime “seemingly instantly.”
The hagfish, which is used in Korean cuisine, were on their way to South Korea, officials said.
In this heat… what is this going to start smelling like in the next few days? pic.twitter.com/3FqSwXeSMP
— Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) July 13, 2017
Thaler also wants to let crash victims know to toss their clothes because “hagfish slime is so tough and dense that scientists are looking into using it to create a natural lycra.”
Well that’s gross.
