Friday, August 7, 2009

Killer Seaweed



Whatever you do, stay away from the beaches of northern France this summer! Other vacation spots may have man eating sharks or giant jellyfish waiting to greet hapless bathers, but an even deadlier creatures has recently washed up on Brittany's beaches. Killer seaweed.

This year, pollution from French farms has led to a bumper crop of a seaweed known as sea lettuce. It's harmless when fresh, but as it rots, it releases deadly hydrogen sulphide gas. The gas, which smells like rotten eggs, can kill a person in minutes.

Recently a popular beach had to be closed after a man and his horse succumbed to the fumes. The man recovered. His horse, unfortunately, did not.

Isn't it about time for us to start cleaning up the messes we've made?

More here.

16 comments:

vendetta-zla said...

scary. would gas masks help?

Cassie said...

Oy. Come on peoples!!! How hard is it to just take care of the earth?!?!?
It sounds pretty deadly and I feel sorry for the horse.

TicTac said...

WHoA! that sounds like a really cool place, but only from afar haha...
-LD

kathleen said...

i think that sounds scary i would like to see it when it was fresh, but rotting? not so much =)

gymnast20 said...

wow look what pollution does!

Reel Dancer said...

scary!!!
speaking of lettuce. my family's going to give away my hamburger to my brother's friend. just because i ate at a friends house. and we're going on a trip so this is the last time for a really delicious hamburger for a while...tear :(
(not that we eat hamburgers on a regular basis...we just haven't had any in a while... and now i'm not getting one)...oh well...(sigh)

blahhhhhhh said...

Cassie, its not that easy to take care of the earth, you know. us people who care do what we can. But there are alot that dont care. first we would have to convince whatever percent of people who dont care TO care. (which is not easy) I mean, in the particular nieghboorhood I live in, we dont even have a recycling system. And its actually a nice place its not rundown or "ghetto" at all! We should start an army of green ppls =)

brave chickens said...

Nature fights back.

Anonymous said...

That's kinda cool in a scary, dangerous way.

This is cool too! Have you ever heard of pumpkin chucking?

"Every fall, dedicated individuals take to fields all over the world to take part in a type of competition that can only be described as awesome. We're talking about pumpkin chucking (not football, folks). The goal is to hurl your pumpkin the farthest, and this vintage firetruck can shoot a pumpkin a quarter-mile in any direction through its 25-foot-barrel cannon. Other competitors who use firetrucks have outfitted them with compound slingshots, catapults and trebuchets. Experts in the United States and Europe (there's a World Championship in Delaware and a European Championship in Belgium each year during pumpkin harvest) can chuck 'em more than 4,000 feet. The key is to make sure the pumpkin stays intact — those that don't are referred to as 'pumpkin pie in the sky.'"

Anonymous said...

yum pumpkin pie...:)

Kitty said...

Oh OUCH... This is why we should be ECO FRIENDLY PEOPLE!! XD

Btw Ananka, today, did you by any chance go out and see a group [12 people] of really lost looking people? [just curious] 'Cuz I was with some friends in Manhattan today XD

Kiwi said...

Wow. That's a little scary.

Pollution has caused mutated evil seaweed!

Reel Dancer: =( I know how you feel.

Cassie: I agree with Blahhhhhh. You know they're working on it. Disney's Friends For Change, Making cars run on stuff like Water, Solar Panals, and hair products that don't kill the enviorment. Lot's of people are trying.

Leaves said...

creepy...poor horse though...

Nico said...

WOULD a gas mask help? sorry reel dancer about the hamburger thing.

sad girl said...

Pumkin pie? where!?

Forrester said...

Poor horse. :*( *tears*