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BBC News' Mario Cacciottolo recently reported on an odd beachside occurrence local denizens have known about for years. It seems thousands of Lego pieces have been washing ashore ever since the Tokio Express lost a reported 62 containers back in February of 1997.
According to Cacciottolo, the cargo ship was crossing the Atlantic for New York when a giant wave knocked various containers overboard-one contained in upwards of 4.8 million Lego blocks.
Much like novelty missives in glass bottles, the blocks made their way to shore, quite possibly all around the world. As the container was lost 20 miles off Cornwall shores, a sizable amount of the toys have made their way to the coast, so much so that an impromptu souvenir market seems to have sprouted.
The story has something of an archivist in the form of Newquay resident Tracey whose Lego Lost at Sea Facebook page chronicles the treasure trove in the form of pictures and posts.
Tracey relays to Cacciottolo, "There's stories of kids in the late 1990s having buckets of dragons on the beach, selling them." Sure you could buy similar toys at a shop, but it wouldn't come complete with an overboard yarn like these pieces can.
She is also careful to note on Facebook that the toys aren't relegated to Cornwall shores: "Although the report says the Lego has only been reported in Cornwall, it has also been discovered in Devon, Ireland and Wales."
It seems you can leave your metal detector at home when traipsing these shores, because colorful gems of the plastic variety can be found rather easily. As anyone with kids knows, the easiest way to find Lego blocks is simply to walk around barefooted, because one of life's more excruciating discoveries is bound to take place.
Cacciottolo notes an obvious issue with a relatively adorable story: "If it's on the ocean it's deadly, a poison for birds."
What might be a treasure to Lego collectors is essentially dangerous refuse to wildlife. The fact that some of these pieces wash ashore pristine serves to remind how long it takes plastic to degrade.
You only need glimpse the following tweet from BBC News to see just how new and unblemished some of these pieces remain after a near two-decade bath in the Atlantic.
If you need a more sinister reminder, go ahead and delve into the numerous reports on "trash islands" forming throughout various ocean currents.
Live Science's Tia Ghose spoke with Capt. Charles Moore who recently recounted his own experience that took place coincidentally back in 1997. Noticing various particles of debris in the open waters, Moore decided to archive the unfortunate sight.
Ghose writes: "Though it didn't seem like an overwhelming amount of trash, he recorded log entries every hour, noting the bits of debris in the water. Toothbrushes. Bottle caps. Eel traps. Floating nets. Soap bottles. On and on it went."
And on and on it goes around the world.
BBC News has some startling statistics, noting that an "estimated an average of 675 containers lost at sea each year between 2008-10." Now consider that just one container held a remarkable 4,756,940 Lego pieces back in 1997, which continues to add to the Cornwall shores to this day.
If you happen to be in the area and are looking for a souvenir, go ahead and meander about the sand and rocks, looking for a tiny swashbuckling pirate or a rare octopus figure. Although, and we can't stress this enough, wear shoes, because the pain of a jellyfish sting is only second to stepping on a Lego in the anguish department.
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