A truck carrying 7,500 pounds of live hagfish spilled its contents on a road in Oregon, covering the road and several cars.
The hagfish (which looks like an eel, but isn’t) has one of those disgusting lamprey-like jawless mouths, but compounds its disgustingness by producing unbelievable amounts of slime, prompting some people to call it a “snotfish”
pictures show the road (and cars) covered in slime. I assume that the hagfish released slime as a defense mechanism, or possibly in death throes. People are anticipating the worst as the stuff decays in the summer sun.
Actually, I was thinking that they should use “Bonanza” somewhere it the title. If I weren’t so lazy, I’d write a parody theme song for Bonanza, except based on hagfish.
Here’s the Dirty Jobs segment where Mike went hagfish fishing: Slime eel fishing - YouTube. One of the best episodes, right up there with the Vegas pig farmer.
As the originator of that thread, I just couldn’t resist a Monty Python reference. “My <vehicle> is full of hagfish” is, well, not right out, but still not quite right.
In other news, McDonald’s reports a shortage of Filet O’ Fish. :dubious:
Whenever someone says that lamprey are gross, I have to assume that they have never heard of hagfish. As an added bonus disgusting thing, they are the Jeremiah Johnsons of the fish world, and have been known to eat the liver out of live fish.
Reminds me of tent caterpillar blooms and Australian spiderweb infestations that show up every couple years.
If you haven’t worked in the seafood processing or fishing industry you would have no idea of the nature of the slime from these fish. You may think that the fire department will just sends some trucks and wash this stuff off the road.
No, no, no! This is some serious space age slime. It may have applications that we have not explored yet. Military applications where a wounded soldier gets hit and opens up a packet of ell slime and squirts it in, wound sealed. An organic plastic alien material that will not wash off, dissolve, or be cleaned off of anything. It is a defense mechanism used by these fish to repel predators who may attack them while under salt water. The best the road workers are going to be able to do is force it off the road with high pressure hoses and let it rot it the ditch.
I would think that the road construction/repair is going to be wrapped up quickly. July, hot days even of the coast, rotting fish slime in the ditch. Bring a barf bag if you are going down the Oregon coast.
And rather a lot of it. :eek: Good for jamming up the gills of a predator; there are numerous videos of hagfish being bitten by sharks and other animals, and released a second later.
I had to leave for work before I got beyond the first verse, and it looks like you did a a bang-up snicker job of completing it. But just for the record:
*If you’re hot
to see a lotta’ snot
You gotta ride with me.
Lost my load
All over the road
Hoss will go hun-gree …*
