# Britains Biggest "Fatberg" Found in London Sewer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502 "2013-08-06T17:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/1 "2013-08-06T17:31:30Z")
Stories [here](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britains-biggest-ever-fatberg--the-size-of-a-bus-and-weighing-15-tonnes--found-in-london-drain-8746672.html) and [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/23586290). A gelatinous mass the size of a bus and weighing 15 tons. (Rumors that it was Winston Churchill proved unfounded.) “Fatberg” is what the water engineers have dubbed these things, and they seem to be fairly common, although not this size. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/2 "2013-08-06T17:35:23Z")
I think I speak for all of us when I say, “EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/3 "2013-08-06T17:43:06Z")
One item being overlooked is that it was part fat, part wet wipes. Do **not** flush anything other than bodily waste and actual toilet paper. Stuff that claims to be “flushable” really isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/4 "2013-08-06T17:52:44Z")
In a just world, sports stars and the like would be paid minimum wage for playing games, and the guys whose job it is to clean up “fatbergs” would have the contracts that are numbered in the millions. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/5 "2013-08-06T18:12:20Z")
I dunno about you, **voltaire** , but I’d buy a ticket to see that. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/6 "2013-08-06T18:17:23Z")
> [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](#): > > I dunno about you, **voltaire** , but I’d buy a ticket to see that. Closed circuit TV for me; I don’t think I want a stadium seat when they scrape that thing off the ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/7 "2013-08-06T18:27:22Z")
Can you imagine being slowly swallowed up by that? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/8 "2013-08-06T18:31:44Z")
Yanno, that sure looked a lot like the test tube meat they supposedly just ‘created.’ ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/9 "2013-08-06T19:49:33Z")
Somehow, it just doesn’t sound as if they’re as adorable in RL as they are in the [Whoniverse](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Adipose). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/10 "2013-08-06T19:50:21Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yanno, that sure looked a lot like the test tube meat they supposedly just ‘created.’ Did I mention EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/11 "2013-08-06T20:27:45Z")
Hey, be nice! His name is Lowell and he’s only down there 'cause his house is being fumigated. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/12 "2013-08-06T20:29:13Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Did I mention EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! Nah, the vat-grown meat’s problem is a lack of fat, not all-fat. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/13 "2013-08-06T20:35:02Z")
Hmm, you make a good point - maybe they can get together and sort out their lack of fat problem. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/14 "2013-08-07T15:58:49Z")
That’s gonna take more than a couple of cans of Drano… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/15 "2013-08-07T16:20:08Z")
It’s what you Brits deserve for making McDonald’s so popular. The fatberg is actually David Beckham after drinking a spoiled bottle of Guinness.\* \*obscure Stephen King reference. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/16 "2013-08-07T16:27:20Z")
Sorry, Brits, this is your own fault. If you guys just ate all your fat and grease like we do in America, it wouldn’t be piling up under your streets. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/17 "2013-08-07T17:03:29Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Did I mention EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! Yanno, that sure looked a lot like them putting the stent in G. W. Bush’s artery. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/18 "2013-08-07T17:17:35Z")
Did they scrape it off with a shovel or nachos? ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/19 "2013-08-07T17:24:48Z")
Does this settle the Great Menses Flushing Question for good now? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-biggest-fatberg-found-in-london-sewer/665502/20 "2013-08-08T15:24:24Z")
I think it is probably not the time to open up a [Fatburger](http://www.fatburger.com/home/) franchise in the UK.