True Life Tuesday: The Oakville Blobs

This story sounds like something out of a bad 1950's sci-fi movie. However, it is a true story of a very weird occurrence.

It all began on August 7, 1994 and lasted for a three week period. In the early morning hours in Oakville, Washington a strange gelatinous substance fell from the sky. It was described like holding Jell-O. By the afternoon of the first day some people and animals became ill. Over the three week period to substance fell a total of 6 times. The incident was covered in the New York Times as well as on an episode of Unexplained Mysteries.

A sample of the substance was tested and was found to contain human white blood cells. However, it was later found that this was not correct. The samples were tested several other times. one test found two species of bacteria one of which appears in the human digestive system. Another test found eukaryotic cells which are complex nucleus containing cells that are present in most living creatures. 

The cause of the blobs was never determined but a few theories were put forth. The first was that a school of jellyfish was destroyed by a military bombing run. This theory was pretty much discarded because of the number of times the substance fell and the lack of a rotting smell. Another theory was that this was human waste emptied from a plane that was flying overhead. However, waste on planes is usually dyed blue and these blobs were clear. The final theory is that this was a test done by the military. there were almost daily military flyovers in the area during this time. The mystery will probably never be solved because no samples of the substance remain.