# Another mystery object thread - foam with spheres washed up on beach **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151 "2018-11-27T11:00:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/21 "2018-11-27T23:14:46Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > This sounds vaguely dirty. > [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Indeed…spheres with a hard, smooth surface probably slide around past each other during a pour to effectively fill a volume to be styrofoamed. So does this. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/22 "2018-11-27T23:21:16Z")
Styrofoamed? It could work. Gives a whole new meaning to a ‘cheap cooler’ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/23 "2018-11-28T01:07:14Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Indeed…spheres with a hard, smooth surface probably slide around past each other during a pour to effectively fill a volume to be styrofoamed. They appear to be well lined up, not random like gravel in a concrete pour. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/24 "2018-11-28T01:58:41Z")
Spheres of uniform size appear to settle orderly in a volume. [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518f3ESRRCL.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518f3ESRRCL.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/25 "2018-11-28T02:35:05Z")
Yup, [maximal-density face-centered cubic lattice packing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-packing_of_equal_spheres). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/26 "2018-11-28T06:21:19Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If there’s foam inside the spheres and outside the spheres, what was the point of the spheres?😕 The foam inside the spheres may not be the same foam as the foam outside. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/27 "2018-11-28T07:21:48Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If there’s foam inside the spheres and outside the spheres, what was the point of the spheres?😕 > [@MrDibble](#): > > The foam inside the spheres may not be the same foam as the foam outside. Another possibility is that the broken spheres we can see with foam inside were broken during the pouring process, and filled with foam then, whereas the intact ones are hollow. The density adjustment may not need to be too accurate, so the spheres may be minimally engineered so that only most of them stay intact. ---
**Author:** ![LowSignalToNoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecae2f/32.png) [@LowSignalToNoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LowSignalToNoise)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/28 "2018-11-28T10:17:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The close-up photo of “der klumpens” (love that :D) definitely shows the spheres are filled with foam. If there’s foam inside the spheres and outside the spheres, what was the point of the spheres?😕 Guessing (again without evidence) the foam spheres are cheaper per unit volume then the white foam. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/29 "2018-11-28T10:35:29Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The foam inside the spheres may not be the same foam as the foam outside. That seems to be the case. See the image of similar foam here: [https://www.lankhorst-offshore.com/en/subsea-buoyancy](https://www.lankhorst-offshore.com/en/subsea-buoyancy) The spheres seem to have a light styrofoam type of filling, while the surrounding foam is denser. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/30 "2018-11-28T11:09:07Z")
Infill from a Strange Grid Ball, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/31 "2018-11-28T11:43:26Z")
My instinct when seeing it was a ship ‘fender’ … which might be called a ‘bumper’ by landlubbers. Huge thingy that keeps ship from banging into docks/piers. Shape checks out. Size checks out. Materials check out. Here ya go: [Marine and Boat Fenders | IRM Offshore and Marine Engineers](http://www.irmome.com/portfolio-item/foam-filled-fenders/) The link isn’t necessarily linking to the make and model, per se, but you’ll get the point. Occam’s Razor: Things that are made of such material, which are big and which are most easily lost by big shippy things. . ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/32 "2018-11-28T11:46:33Z")
Also: [Products Solutions and Services | Marine-and-infrastructure](http://www.trelleborg.com/en/marine-systems/products--solutions--and--services/marine--fenders/foam--fenders/?sortType=&startItem=0&numberOfItems=3&id=8c0239eb-6e4a-4451-8b1c-ef8ab4425737) [![](https://www.irmome.com/wp-content/gallery/foam-filled-fenders/2.jpg) ](https://www.irmome.com/wp-content/gallery/foam-filled-fenders/2.jpg) . ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/33 "2018-12-02T12:26:20Z")
So why the brown balls ? maybe - waterproof balls … so that if the white foam starts becoming waterlogged, the brown balls provide some bouyancy - Hold the skin out as a mould… Otherwise, the skin could collapse and won’t set into the correct shape. - makes it strong under compression … while it remains weak under tension. That means it won’t easily be squashed to nothing. But should it become wedged at the wrong place, it can be pulled apart. Thats why this lump got to go floating around nude (no skin. The mould skin combo is left behind, probably with the mooring line )… They caught the bouy with a line and the line broke it apart. So this is the part of the guts that floated away. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151/34 "2018-12-02T16:45:14Z")
> [@](#): > > “We estimated that it was normal waste that did not contain any toxins.” Also, the contents of the bullets, which released something like a styrofoam after breaking two plastic jackets, had been harmless. “So we arranged for the removal of the object at the end of last week.” 2 jackets for a chemical reaction? (something like a Styrofoam?) To what end? Ship bumpers take some very heavy hits and would pulverize any Styrofoam? Skin so delicate that an anchor rode sliding across it would rip it open? And that is used in a ship bumper? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mystery-object-thread-foam-with-spheres-washed-up-on-beach/825151.md?page=1)