7 Strangest Things Found in the Ocean

The claim that we know more about outer space than we do the ocean is a pile of horse poop. We've explored lots of the ocean. We've met many of its creatures. Heck, I've even drank some of it. But I've never drunk outer space. However, this doesn't mean the ocean can't still surprise us. Because every now and then, something pops up from its murky deep which confuses the salty heck out of all of us. Such as this purple blob. This odd looking fish. And all this junk from World War 2. Intrigued? Oh, I'm sure you are. So let's wait no more and take a look at the 7 strangest things found in the ocean. 7. The Blob When a headline like this appears in your newsfeed, you'd have to be a soulless cynic not to click it. But even if you read it, you may come away with far more questions than answers. The article covers the story of a team of researchers aboard the exploration vessel Nautilus who, in July 2016, were surveying the ocean floor off the coast of Santa Barbara using a high-tech floating laboratory when they spotted this thing. Measuring only 5 centimeters across and sporting a couple of lobes, a foot, a weird slug part, and some kind of proboscis. This creature, which was found 1,616 meters down at the bottom of the sea, was completely new to the marine biologists who discovered it. And after being sent to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, we're still not certain exactly what it is. It might be a soft-bodied marine mollusk or a pleurobranch, which is a type of sea slug that's never been seen sporting such a snazzy shade of purple before. But we do know one thing for certain, that mean crab sure wanted to find out what it tasted like. And so do I, actually. 6. A Waterfall Did you know that Earth's largest waterfall is actually beneath the ocean? Maybe you like finding out the world's largest desert is in Antarctica. Wait, it is? Gee, I guess we better pay attention to this waterfall thingy then. The Denmark Strait is the area of the Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Iceland. And this is where the cold water from the eastern side of the strait meets the warmer current of the western side. Now, as we all know from peeing in the tub, warm water rises, and this in turn causes the cold water to flow downwards beneath the western current, which in turn creates a gigantic underwater waterfall, measuring over 3 and a half thousand meters tall. That's 60 times the height of Niagara Falls, and with an estimated 5 million cubic meters of water flowing through it every second, it's almost 350 times more voluminous than that pansies trickle going on in North America. 7. Dayglow Slime Kinda looks like the whole ocean's having a rave, doesn't it? Well, this awesome sight isn't actually that unique as it's repeated in various locations around the world, including the Maldives, Malta, Puerto Rico, and the coasts of both California and Florida. This phenomenon is completely natural and is most often caused by algae which release a bioluminescent glow when disturbed. However, invertebrates and crustaceans are also known to use a similar form of bioluminescence to attract a mate, so be careful jumping into this stuff, because if it's not algae, then you may end up swimming through one giant booty call. And if you do, for God's sake, try and keep your mouth shut. You don't want to get mouth pregnant with squid babies like that poor South Korean woman. 4. Spacecraft Engines For anyone who's worried we're about to cover the Baltic Sea anomaly for the zillionth time, don't worry. That mildly familiar-looking rock formation doesn't make this list. But a genuine spaceship has made the cut, because in 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos founded a team to recover the engines of Apollo 11 from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. You know, Apollo 11, the spacecraft which carried humans to that big grey rock in the sky, enabling them to walk on the surface of the moon for the first time ever? Kind of an important relic to just leave rusting at the bottom of the sea. But for some reason, nobody thought to go pick them up, until one day, Jeff Bezos decided to haul ass the ocean deep and retrieve these historic artifacts. For no other reason than the fact that he could. Eh, that's as good a reason as any. 3. The Lazarus Fish It's both tempting and frightening to believe that the ocean could still contain creatures like long-extinct Plesiosaur or the ferocious Megalodon. And we've all seen those shaky pieces of footage and blurred photographs of giant sea serpents on the internet, which are put forward rather tenuously as evidence. But is there a possibility these ancient ocean dinosaurs might still exist? Well, maybe. Because we've found one before. This charming fellow is a Coelacanth, and when it was rediscovered in 1938, it was quite a surprise, as we thought it had died out 65 million years ago. Weighing over 200 pounds and measuring nearly two meters in length, you wouldn't want to eat this guy, as its skin releases oils giving it a most disgusting taste. But if this fella can hide away at the bottom of the ocean for millions of years undetected, it makes you wonder what else is lurking down there. 2. The Sunken City Alexandria is the second largest city of Egypt, and can trace its origins back to the year 331 BC when it was founded as a small town by Greek conqueror Alexander the Great. Later ruled by the likes of Cleopatra, Napoleon, and even once invaded by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, this region is clearly one of utmost historical significance. But Alexandria wasn't always the important place on Egypt's northern coast. Centuries before its construction came, the fabled city of Thonis, also known as Heracleion and once thought to be a myth, located 15 miles northeast of modern-day Alexandria, is an area now submerged beneath the ocean. Initially the more prosperous settlement, Thonis-Heracleion was a huge trading port until a devastating earthquake and tsunami around the year 4 AD caused large parts of it to sink into the sea. But this last event has proven history's savior. Whereas much of Alexandria has been destroyed by war, Thonis-Heracleion's temples, artifacts, and even parts of a palace once belonging to Cleopatra have been preserved by the ocean. And soon you may be able to see these sights for yourself. For two decades there have been plans in place to construct an elaborate underwater museum around these sunken ruins, as this would prevent the need for the artifacts to be removed and potentially risk damaging them. And in September 2016, Egypt's Ministry for Antiquities reaffirmed their commitment to building this museum, as soon as they figure out who's going to pay for it. At the moment it seems like it's going to be China, but who knows? Jeff Bezos might decide to do it just because he wakes up one day and decides that he can. 1. Chemical Weapons Remember when Saddam Hussein was accused of hoarding chemical weapons, and both the USA and Britain decided to invade Iraq? Well, get ready folks. Operation Little Mermaid is on the horizon, because right now there are an estimated 1 million tons of chemical weapons lying at the bottom of the ocean. These weapons have been dumped repeatedly over the past century, and most of them are comprised of mustard gas munitions ditched in haste after World War II. You see, mustard gas was banned by the Geneva Convention in 1925, but despite this, it was still used by all sides throughout the Second World War. After the hostilities had ceased, nobody wanted to be caught in possession of these contraband chemical weapons, so the US, Russia, and Britain put their mustard gas shells onto a fleet of boats and dumped them into the sea. Now, both time and sea currents have made the records of where these bombs were ditched highly inaccurate. And right now, we all face a race against time to locate them before they start to spill their deadly contents. Thanks, US, Russia, and UK. But even if they were completely leak-proof, would you trust an undersea arsenal staying safe in the hands of King Trident? Or, God forbid, a crab with a Jamaican accent? I say we nuke the ocean right now just to be safe. And a Strange Mysteries bonus entry… Sneakers. Oh, here we go again. Yet another entry about a ship full of sneakers which tipped over and spilled its load. And now, all the ocean creatures are wearing Reebok classics. Except the octopus, who had too many legs and couldn't find enough sneakers and now he's sad and there's a GoFundMe page for this whiny cephalopod jerk. Is that what you're doing, Strange Mysteries? Is that the story you're telling us? No, imaginary audience member, we are not. This story actually covers the fact that when a whole heap of plastic was found in the ocean off the coast of the Maldives, Adidas teamed up with an ocean protection organization to turn this junk into sneakers, athletic apparel, and even the official soccer jerseys worn by Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Sporting Gijon. The group responsible is called Parley for the Oceans, and the gunk they cleaned out of the sea is now being used by many other corporations to create eco-friendly products. And who knows, maybe if you go throw enough plastic trash bags in your local lake, you'll get to meet Cristiano Ronaldo. Couldn't hurt to try. So that's our list. Have you found anything in the ocean? Tell us in the comments below. Unless it's a corpse, then maybe go call the police. And when you finish doing that, why not watch our recent video on 7 mysteriously lost great cities, where you can find out even more about the underwater Egyptian city we just mentioned.