Australia, a country already blessed with approximately 10,000 ways to die on any given Tuesday, has added a brand new hazard to its legendary roster: mysterious metallic spheres from space washing up on its beaches.
Six gleaming orbs recently appeared on a Queensland shoreline looking every bit like the opening scene of a sci-fi blockbuster — the kind where a curious beachgoer picks one up and immediately regrets every decision that led them to that moment. Fortunately, nobody did that, because Australians have apparently developed excellent instincts for recognizing things that want to kill them.
Authorities wasted no time establishing exclusion zones around the so-called ‘spaceballs’ (yes, that’s actually what experts are calling them, and honestly we respect it). Firefighters suited up in full protective gear to collect the orbs into hazardous materials containers, looking considerably less relaxed than your average beachgoer hunting for seashells.
Experts identified the spheres as titanium pressure vessels — essentially fancy containers used in rocket fuel systems. The fun part? They may still contain traces of hydrazine, a rocket propellant so toxic it makes Australia’s famously deadly wildlife look like a petting zoo.
The increasingly common phenomenon of space debris raining down on our beaches is, scientists gently remind us, an ‘unfortunately growing problem’ — a diplomatic way of saying humanity has essentially turned low Earth orbit into the world’s most expensive and dangerous litterbug contest.
So next time you’re beachcombing in Queensland, perhaps stick to collecting shells. The regular kind. That don’t glow.
Source: The Guardian via Vice.com
Original story via Reddit Offbeat
