From unexplained metal balls to Garfield-themed phones, the strange material that drifts ashore from the oceans can reveal a surprising amount.
It's around 1.5m (5ft) wide, almost perfectly spherical – and people in Japan aren't quite sure what it is. This week, a mysterious round ball washed up on the coast off the city of Hamamatsu, prompting widespread speculation about what it might be.
Despite its metallic exterior, it's probably not an explosive mine – though bomb experts did check. Nor is it thought to be a surveillance device, fears of which have been fuelled by the recent reports of Chinese spy balloons drifting over the continental US.
It would not be the first time a strange giant sphere has washed up on land: in 2019, police in London responded to reports of an unexploded device on the banks of the Thames in Wapping – it turned out to be a giant Christmas bauble.
Nor is it the first mysterious object to appear on a coastline. Every year, the ocean washes up many unusual items that often can't be explained at first. ufa369