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Garfield phones washed ashore
In 2019 the mystery cracked open. One man recalled seeing a wayward shipping container wedged in a sea cave. Scientists went down to the site and found a trove of Garfield phones inside the container.
Nobody dredged them up. The phones are too hard to get out, so they still wash ashore in bits and pieces.
The cat telephones are one container among many. Thousands of containers fall off ships every year, which leaves thousands of containers on the sea floor with LCD TVs, toasters, and mattresses inside.
Why do shipping containers fall off ships?
Container ships stack boxes many layers high on deck, held down by lashing rods and twist locks. In heavy weather the ship rolls hard, and the load shifts against those fittings. A failed lock or lashing can send a whole stack over the side. Some containers float for a while before they sink, and others sink immediately.
Why do plastic items wash up in pieces?
Waves tumble plastic against rock and sand, which grinds it down. Sunlight makes plastic brittle by breaking down its chemical bonds. Together they split an object into smaller and smaller fragments. The pieces can keep drifting on currents and washing ashore for decades.
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