Collectors of rare toys found hundreds of plastic Lego figures on the Atlantic coast this year. Millions of them fell into the sea 27 years ago. Now some of them are extremely rare and valuable finds.
In 1997, a gigantic wave hit the Tokyo Express container ship passing near the English Cape Land's End. 62 containers containing 4 million 800 thousand Lego bricks fell into the water. These have been found on local beaches and on the coast for years Ireland, Netherlandsor even Norway. Fans of the famous bricks have created the Lego Lost At Sea project, within which they have been searching for missing elements for years.
Thousands of plastic sharks in the sea
The originator of the project, Tracey Williams, explained in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that among the hundreds of items found this year, a significant proportion were yellow crossbows. 27 years earlier, over 53,000 people disappeared into the ocean. such crossbows. This year's most valuable discovery, however, turned out to be a plastic shark – the first one found from the lost collection. Official documentation shows that the container washed into the water contained over 22,000. dark gray sharks and almost 30 thousand light gray.
The first shark was discovered this year by Richard West, a 35-year-old fisherman from Plymouth. “I immediately knew what it was because when I was little I had Lego sharks in a pirate ship set,” he explained to the BBC. – It is priceless, it is a treasure – he noted. Soon another fisherman found another shark. “Sharks are drowning, that's why so few of them have been found,” Tracey Williams explained in an interview with a British broadcaster.
The “Holy Grail” of seekers
When in April this year a 13-year-old British boy was found on the beach a plastic octopus figurine famous brick manufacturer, Williams admitted that it is often perceived as the “holy grail” of seekers. Although 4,800 identical octopuses drowned in the sea, they are very difficult to find. Quoted by the BBC, Williams explained in April that she found one octopus in 1997. She managed to find another one only 18 years later. – I think there is something magical about these octopuses – she said.
So far, not a single lost Lego magic wand, dragon wings or witch hat has been found.
Williams argues that “the goal of the Lego Lost At Sea project is primarily to raise awareness of the problem of plastic in the ocean.” – How does it get there? What sinks and what floats? How long does it last? How far does it drift – both on the ocean surface and near the seafloor? And what happens to it over time and when it falls apart? – he enumerates in an interview with the BBC.
Main photo source: legolostatsea / Instagram, Shutterstock