oddly enough

oddly enough

Mower, tooth in a box, Vishnu doll in beach trash

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J.

The bizarre trash items plucked from New Jersey’s beaches last year might be enough to cause nausea or heartburn. But don’t worry, a bottle of Pepto-Bismol was among the items collected.

Also plucked from the sands of the state’s beaches were a lawn mower, a saw blade, an empty medical marijuana container, a strobe light, a bird cage and two fire extinguishers.

Other items included a plastic statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, a cheese grater and a human tooth in a box.

Aside from the bizarre items, Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action said most of the trash consisted of plastics, which can kill fish and animals that swallow it.

“An emaciated sperm whale washed up dead on a beach in Spain recently,” she said. “The once majestic ocean-cruising youngster looked like a burnt pancake. He died a tragic and painful death feeding on 64 pounds of plastic he thought was food. Countless others have died the same way, or by entanglement of plastics or other man-made products. We humans are wholly responsible for their deaths, and it is on us to do something about it.”

The group sponsors beach sweeps along New Jersey’s entire ocean and bay coastline in spring and fall each year, and painstakingly catalogs everything collected. In 2017, they picked up nearly 374,000 pieces of trash, 84 percent of which was plastic or plastic foam; 66 percent of the trash collected was discarded single-use items.

The trash is either left behind by beachgoers or washed ashore from sewage systems that overflow during heavy rainstorms.

Some of the more unusual items included enough to stock a small medical clinic: blood vials, dentures, a knee brace, pill bottles, a surgical mask and a bottle of eye drops.

‘World Famous Big Blue Bug’ ad goes up on I-95

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

The nearly 60-foot-long blue termite that overlooks Interstate 95 in Rhode Island is now even harder to miss.

Big Blue Bug Solutions put up a billboard in Providence alerting drivers that their building and its “World Famous Big Blue Bug” are only a mile away.

Company vice president Tony DeJesus told WJAR-TV that they get visitors from all over the world looking for the bug known as Nibbles Woodaway. It has been a landmark for drivers for nearly 40 years and doubles as a quirky symbol of the state, showing up occasionally in movies and TV shows.

Associated Press