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If you thought your commute was bad Thursday, it probably wasn’t as bad as what people dealt with while driving along a coastal highway in Depoe Bay, Oregon.
A truck carrying 7,500 pounds (3.4 tonnes) of hagfish – or slime eels – tipped over while trying to make a stop, tossing containers of slime-covered prehistoric fish all over Highway 101, according to The New York Times.
Only minor injuries were reported.
The eels were being transported to South Korea, where they’re sometimes considered a delicacy, The New York Times reported.
Check out the scene below.
Depoe Bay Fire District announced around 1:50pm PST that Highway 101 “just got slimed” on Twitter. The pictures really speak for themselves.
HWY 101 mp 131 just got slimed. Fortunately no injuries. pic.twitter.com/jyBoZovzaz
– Depoe Bay Fire Dist. (@DepoeBayFire) July 13, 2017
These slimy creatures are “hagfish”, or “slime eels”, which produce slime to protect themselves when stressed. They have remained virtually unchanged as a species for the last 300 million years.
Thanks @OregonDOT pic.twitter.com/SmwHtWLeQ3
— Depoe Bay Fire Dist. (@DepoeBayFire) July 13, 2017
Oregon State Police asked the question we’re all wondering.
In this heat… what is this going to start smelling like in the next few days?? pic.twitter.com/3FqSwXeSMP
– Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) July 13, 2017
You should toss your clothes out if they’ve been exposed, wrote Dr Andrew Thaler, a deep-sea ecologist and population geneticist, on his website.
What to tell the #drycleaner? pic.twitter.com/2QyxSriiGq
– Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) July 13, 2017
As you can see, the hagfish don’t mess around when producing slime. A “single hagfish can fill a 5-gallon [18.9 litre] bucket with slime, seemingly instantly,” wrote Thaler.
OSP @OregonDOT & @LincolnCountySO on scene overturned #Slime #Eel truck Hwy101 MP131 closed. #Cleanup on Aisle 101 pic.twitter.com/Z9s9XbQ247
– Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) July 13, 2017
Hoses and bulldozers had to be brought in to clean up the highway mess.
Operation eel cleanup with @OregonDOT 2 lanes now open pic.twitter.com/Lj2oIAzsFf
— Depoe Bay Fire Dist. (@DepoeBayFire) July 13, 2017
The fire department’s truck took some slime damage, too.
– Depoe Bay Fire Dist. (@DepoeBayFire) July 13, 2017
The lanes were eventually re-opened hours later, but no word on the smell.
We’re signing off for the evening, but I doubt we’ll sleep tonight because…#eels
– Oregon DOT (@OregonDOT) July 14, 2017
This is what the hagfish looks like in its natural habitat.
Peter Southwood / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
And here’s the Smithsonian Channel telling you everything you don’t want to know about the hagfish. Do not watch if you have a weak stomach.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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