While strolling along a sandy beach in Galveston, Texas, one man discovered something peculiar that has prompted a series of theories.
Conner found a strange vial washed up on the beach and picked it up for a closer look. He took a photograph and posted it on Reddit's r/mildlyinteresting subreddit, where it has gained 8,600 upvotes and hundreds of comments.
"I found the vial washed up on the shore of a beach in Galveston, Texas," Conner told Newsweek. "The contents are unknown, but I've been told by some others that it contains blood or other medical waste. Someone reached out to me and claimed to have found four similar vials on the Gulf Coast in the past year."
Waste washing up on the shore is sadly no surprise. Statistics show that plastic waste on beaches has increased by 140 percent since 1994, and medical waste is an ongoing problem too.
Hypodermic needles and disposable syringes have been washing up on beaches for decades, posing health risks and environmental hazards around the world.
The discovery sparked a flurry of speculation and commentary from Reddit users. User DasMicha speculated what the vial may have been for and wrote: "Looks like a vial used in gas chromatography. The cover should have a metal rim and rubber in the middle, so the needle of the chromatograph can pierce it to take a sample. Looks like it is filled with some kind of crude oil, I suspect it was used in quality control on an oil rig and fell overboard."
Gas chromatography is a technique used to separate and analyze the different chemicals in a mixture. A byproduct of this process is often small vials. They are used to hold the original sample before it is injected into the gas chromatography machine.
Others gave some more joking suggestions: "Drink it and show us the result," said 3inchesofMayhem.
While PhalanxA51 wrote: "If video games have taught me anything you should drink it." While 44r0n_10 dubbed the liquid in the bottle "The forbidden soy sauce."
"Put it back!!!! Put it back!!!" urged Jehuty02453 "Before u start a zombie apocalypse!!!"
Another mysterious washed-up item on the beach has confused people this year. In April, surfers in Malaysia stumbled upon a strange, slimy mass on Telok Melano Beach, which authorities suspect to be the decomposing body of a whale.
The discovery, made by the APM Coastal Rescue Team, attracted onlookers as such incidents are rare in the region. When whales die at sea, their bodies decompose, sometimes causing them to float to the surface where they become food for scavengers.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
